Landscape. Juncose of the Garrigues

Paisatge is one of the most celebrated works by Antoni Samarra i Tugues, an artist who has been badly mistreated by the most conservative critic of his time and finds himself aligned with the most progressive aesthetic proposals of the moment thanks to his original way of painting, sometimes close to approaches fauves.The work presents a view of Juncosa de les Garrigues by the volts of 1912, shortly before the exhibition of Lleidatans artists that took place in Lleida during the month of May on the occasion of the major festival. With this painting Samarra presents a clear evolution towards postmodernism imbued with a very particular expressionism, although it does not connect with the most current artistic approaches of that time, on the way towards Noucentisme.Samarra was especially prone to developing landscapes stripped of details, and used it as a pretext to develop a striking brushstroke, of great consistency, that brings relief to the fabric. In this landscape, warm colors predominate, and especially the contrast between the areas of light and work, painted, the latter, using lilac tones instead of the typical gray and dark tones. The work has been part of the collection of the Jaume Morera Art Museum since 1929, thanks to a donation from the artist's sisters.