PERE CRÉIXAMS PICÓ (Barcelona, 1893 - 1965).
"Gypsy family".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Size: 196 x 130 cm; 199 x 134 cm (frame).
In this composition, resolved with bold and vibrant brushstrokes, Créixams gathers a group of gypsy women in a forest clearing. The figures occupy almost the entire frame, so that the surroundings are subsumed by the plastic richness of the cloths and mantillas, but above all by the psychological characterisation of each figure. One attends to her little one, another is oblivious and dreamy, and the youngest looks at us, questioning us.
A self-taught painter, Créixams began his career as a cabinetmaker and typographer. In 1918 he travelled to Paris and, in contact with the artistic atmosphere of Montmartre, decided to devote himself to painting. In the French capital he took part in the École de Paris and exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1922), the Salon d'Automne (1925) and the Tuileries. He also illustrated works by Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Max Jacob and Cocteau. He returned to Barcelona in 1927 and took part in the last exhibition of the Evolutionists. In 1936 he returned to Paris, but continued to exhibit regularly in Barcelona. Influenced by Nonell, his favourite subject was always the figure. Pere Créixams Picó is currently represented at the MACBA, the Petit Palais in Geneva, the Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires and other European and American museums.