Joaquín Terruella

JOAQUIM TERRUELLA MATILLA (Barcelona, 1891 - 1957).
"El Castellar, old islet of Port de Llançà".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right-hand corner.
Measurements:54 X 65 cm; 65 x 76 cm (frame)
The orography of this landscape indicates that it is El Castellar, an old islet of Port de Llançà, situated in the province of Girona. The beach at Llançà was depicted several times by the artist, as can be seen in the collection of Baroness Carmen Thyssen, who owns the works Playa de Llançà and Playa de Port de Llançà, from 1946. The scene shows a technique that was familiar with the aesthetic advances and pictorial proposals that the Impressionists contributed to the history of art, and especially to the way of apprehending the landscape.
A nephew and follower of Segundo Matilla, Joaquín Terruella was also a disciple of Santiago Rusiñol. He made a trip to Italy with the latter in 1923, as well as spending some time working together in Aranjuez. He also painted in Paris and Palma de Mallorca. He had his first solo exhibition in the now defunct Goya gallery in Barcelona in 1916, and from then on he exhibited his work in other Barcelona galleries, such as the Parés and Gaspar, and also in Paris, Madrid, Palma, Saragossa, Bordeaux and Biarritz. In 1956 he held his last exhibition at the Sala Busquets in Barcelona. Since then his work has been present in various group and anthological exhibitions, such as the one held at the Sala Gothsland in Barcelona in 1985. In 1993, Ángeles Cortina brought together a series of his oil paintings and drawings in her Barcelona gallery. Joaquín Terruella was a fundamentally landscape painter, in the wake of Impressionism, who reflected the Catalan landscape with delicacy and subtle transparency. Another of his favourite subjects was the world of bullfighting, and in fact he worked as a bullfighting illustrator for the publications "El Día Gráfico" and "La Noche". He also painted scenes of gypsies and concert cafés. His work is kept in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Madrid and the Provincial Museum of Lugo.