Ramon Calsina: Misèries humanes (Human Miseries)

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Ramon Calsina i Baró (Barcelona, 1901–1992) is one of the most singular figures in twentieth-century Catalan painting. The fact that he built his career at the margins of the mainstream currents has meant that his contribution has stayed in the background, despite the importance of his artistic legacy. The exhibition Misèries humanes (Human miseries) seeks to shine a new light on the most disconcerting aspect of his work, focused particularly on drawing. It will delve into the sharpest, harshest and most critical side of the artist’s work.

His drawings serve as a mirror to point out and help us see all the virtues and vices of human existence, whilst the tenderness and humanity of his work is also moving. Strongly influenced by the country’s pictorial tradition and also seduced by the avant-garde in the thirties, Calsina has remained in no man’s land. He has been considered as too groundbreaking by the traditional painters yet too traditional by the most groundbreaking artists. Even so, with the passage of time, his drawings are still relevant today, both in form and substance. The themes of social critique, raising awareness of issues such as gender-based violence, war and the systematic crisis from the perspective of the thirties make him a visionary artist who, through observation of the context that surrounds him, has become timeless.

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