Ramón Tusquets y Maignon

(Spanish, 1838-1904)

Le Opere, Campiña Romana

Footnotes

Provenance
Eduardo de Carandolet Donado y Castaños, Marqués de Portugalete and Duque de Bailén, Madrid, acquired at, or soon after, the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, Madrid, 1871.
Señor Don Gustavo Baüer, Madrid, by at least 1898.
Domingos Demarchi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and thence by decent to his great grandchildren, the present owners.

Exhibited
Madrid, Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1871, no. 543, where it was awarded a second-class medal.
London, Guildhall, Corporation of London Art Gallery, Exhibition of the works by the Prominent painters of Spain, 1901, as The Roman Campagna (Peasants working in the Field), listed as property of Señor Don Gustavo Baüer (exhibition label attached to the reverse).

Literature
Peregrin García Cadena, La Ilustracion de Madrid, vol. 43, p. 292, showing a full-page illustration and p. 334:
'Mr. Tusquets is the one who has surprised this time an episode of that naturalness in the middle of a Roman countryside. Who has not admired that well-ordered composition, that movement so perfectly understood, that impeccable harmony of tone and light, that intelligence of perspective, that general character of truth and naturalness that the photograph of the painting seems to produce? The grouping of the figures, the grandiose effect of the dark light, the delicate accord of the tones and the colours, the refined touch; everything is beautiful in Mr. Tusquets' painting, everything is well expressed, well arranged and executed to perfection.'

Manuel Cañete, La Ilustracion Española y Americana, 1871, vol. XXX, p. 524 showing a full-page illustration of the work and vol. XXXVI, p. 614:
'Don Ramon Tusquets, a native of Barcelona, is well placed in the pavilion of Catalan painters. A single painting by him has been shown at the exhibition, but it is worth many, Le Opere Campiña Romana (number 543) is, indeed, a piece of great merit, which none of the other exhibits exceed in quality. It is bewildering therefore the way of distributing the prizes has deprived Tusquets of a first-class medal. Nobody deserved it more, neither for the way of imagining his work, nor for the way of drawing and executing it. The painting of the Roman peasants tilling the land is a new confirmation of the theory so many times demonstrated in practise that the simple representation of nature is enough to produce a beautiful artistic creation, without the need to turn painting into an interpretation of philosophical concepts or abstractions of any genre. What simplicity, what truth, what light, what admirable local colour in the statuesque form of the figures and in the harsh aspect of the landscape! How well understood is the aerial perspective and the gradation of colours. How much harmony in the canvas of Tusquets! There, everything lives with the life of reality and with that of art.'

Anon, Correspondencia de Bellas Artes – Raimundo Tusquets, Rome, 24 October 1874, in Revista Europea, no. 38, 1874, p. 93:
'At the Exhibition of 1871 we again saw the appearance of Tusquets' signature in the painting Los Campesinos Romanos. The artist has made a giant step. Nothing so beautiful, nothing so pleasing as that delicious painting, in which one does not know what to admire more - the naturalness and simplicity with which the subject matter was developed or the accuracy of the attitude and expression of the figures; or the correctness or the drawing; or the appropriateness and freshness of the colour; of the diaphanous light and soft atmosphere that bathes it; or the harmony of the whole. That painting was one of the best in that exhibition, and in front of it was constantly seen a group of admirers almost as numerous as the ones that were attracted by La Lucrecia, by Rosales; Santa Clara by Domingo; the Tres de Mayo by Palmaroli, or the Muerte de Seneca by Dominguez.

The admirable instinct that leads our people to contemplate the works of art, stopping always in front of the best, without realizing the reason for this, meant that the Tusquets painting had admirers, not just among intelligent people who appreciate and rationalise in detail what the merits and the defects that a painting may have, but among the popular classes that are guided by instinct and appreciate the impression they receive. Nevertheless neither could appreciate that painting well enough because to appreciate it in all its truth, it was necessary to know the country where it was created; it was necessary to have seen these peasants of Roman agriculture engaged in their work; it was necessary to have contemplated these fields with their dark colour, these humid and unhealthy lands; it was necessary have seen this white, soft, pearly light of Roman dawns, a special light that is very different from ours. Everything was captured in that painting with an exactitude, breathtakingly and charmingly beautiful; this could not be gauged by someone in Spain who did not know this country in detail, and yet the picture was admired by all, and Tusquets got an enviable triumph that further strengthened his reputation as an artist. Not even the humorous critic who caused so much hurt to many of the works presented in that exhibition, not speaking of the good qualities of the pictures, but ruthlessly siting any defect, found nothing in the Tusquets that would fuel his scathing jokes. No, I spoke wrong; something occurred in a detail in the background, and precisely in a detail that gave extraordinary truth to the whole, and which the critic had missed seeing to know little of the customs of the Roman peasants.'

Alfred George Temple, Modern Spanish Painting, being a review of some of the chief painters and paintings of the Spanish school since the time of Goya, 1898, pp. 48-9:
'[Tusquets'] landscapes are very distinctive in character; one of his best examples, rich in colour and firm in delineation, being The Roman Campagna, a large work in the collection of Señor Bauer, in Madrid. Many medals and other distinctions have been awarded to him.'

Cien años de pintura en España y Portugal (1830-1930), 1993, p. 72, noting that the work was 'awarded a second-class medal and was acquired by the Marqués de Portugalete.'

Photographed by the French photographer Jean Laurent (1816-86), of which there is an example in the Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid.

Ramón Tusquets' magnificent oil Le Opere, Campiña Romana was painted in Rome, about six years after he had left his Spanish homeland in circa 1865 to live and work in Italy. Keen to maintain his native connections, Tusquets often sent his work to the Spanish exhibitions, of which this was one. It was shown in 1871 at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, Madrid, where it was awarded a second-class medal. The critics and public alike were unanimous in praising this tour de force for its beauty, harmony, light, colour and naturalism. As some of the reviews noted, Tusquets' achievement drew both on his native artistic heritage and on his more recent understanding of Italian culture, its terrain, light and art. Indeed, Tusquets was one of a number of mid-nineteenth century Spanish artists, including Eduardo Rosales and Francisco Pradilla, who believed that the study of classical art and a visit to Rome was an essential part of their artistic training, even though by that date, the art world had shifted to Paris. Underlying the work is strong draughtsmanship, an aspect Tusquets had learnt from studying the Old Masters. To this was added his knowledge of his subject matter, namely the terrain and particular light associated with the Roman Campagna, as well as the men and women who toiled its land. In this, Tusquets was influenced by the Italian Realist painters such as the Neapolitan Portici group and by his friend Mariano Fortuny. Here, the simple, hard-working Roman peasants are raised to a noble status, comparing with works by the French Realists such as Jean-François Millet's The Gleaners (1857; Musée d'Orsay, Paris), as well as anticipating similar scenes by Henry Herbert La Thangue in France or George Clausen in England.

Ramón (aka Raimundo) Tusquets was born and raised in Barcelona. He was the son of a wealthy businessman who insisted that his son follow family tradition by entering the world of banking and commerce, so it was only after his father's death that Tusquets was free to pursue his love of art. Tusquets began his training in the studio of his friend Manuel Moliné, a celebrated caricaturist; he subsequently worked for the satirical Catalan newspaper Lo Tros de Paper. His decision to devote himself to painting was further confirmed when, in 1864, he visited Madrid, where he studied the Old Masters in the Prado and visited the Exposición Nacional. Soon after, Tusquets went to Rome, where he enrolled at the Academia Chigi and befriended the circle of Catalan painters established there, including Mariano Fortuny who had recently been travelling in Africa. Through Fortuny, he met and was influenced by the Portici group in Naples and also Domenico Morelli.

During the early part of his career, Tusquets painted Oriental scenes, views of the Roman and Neapolitan countryside and its people, such as Estudio del Natural (1866; Museo del Prado) a powerful study of a beggar. It was one of his first great successes when shown in Spain and was acquired in 1867 by the State. While Estudio del Natural and Le Opere, Campiña Romana focus on nature and the human form, Tusquets subsequently turned his attention toward historical subjects, painting for instance a series of five canvases depicting scenes from Catalan history for Miguel Boada's residence. During his illustrious career, Tusquets exhibited and won many awards in Italy, Spain and other European venues. Among them, he contributed to the International Artistic Association in Rome, exhibited in Naples, and won first-class medals at both the World Fair in Vienna, 1876 and the Paris International Exhibition of 1878. During the 1880s Tusquets' work hung at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, which resulted in numerous commissions from the City Council, most notably one to portray Queen María Cristina of Austria (1886; Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona). In addition, he was appointed President of the International Artistic Association in Rome, where he remained, with ever failing eyesight, up until his death on 11th March 1904.

It was either at the Madrid exhibition of 1871, or very soon after, that Tusquets' masterpiece was purchased by the great art collector Eduardo de Carandolet Donado y Castaños, Marqués de Portugalete and Duque de Bailén (1820-82). An article, written in 1874 notes 'This painting, which was awarded a prize at the show, is one of the few works by Tusquets that there is in Madrid, where, except for this one and one owned by the Ministry of Development, I am not aware that there exists other works of his, other than a study and some watercolours acquired by the Marqués de Portugalete, whose name I write with pleasure for being one of the few rich Spanish art lovers, who use part of their income to buy paintings by our painters, thus protecting them in their career and demonstrating his good taste at the same time.' (Revista Europea, 1874, p. 93). When describing the present oil, a slightly later article noted 'as in his first painting of the beggar [Estudio del Natural], it appears realistic, but he corrects himself from a certain harshness of expression that characterizes that and other paintings from the first period of his artistic life. The two oil paintings, this and some watercolours owned by the Marqués de Portugalete constitute all the works of any importance that exist by this painter in Spain' (La Ilustracion Española y Americana, vol XLVIII, 30th December 1877, p. 407).

Certainly, Le Opere, Campiña Romana would have been shown to advantage hanging at the Palacio de Marqués de Portugalete on Madrid's Calle de Alcalá. This grand and ornate palace was built in the 1860s for the Marqués and his wife María de los Dolores de Collado y Echagüe (1829-1916). She was the daughter of the Marquis de la Laguna, minister of finance, development and foreign affairs, and with her husband often entertained political figures and the wealthy elite at their palacio. The Marqués, who was also of noble birth, entered the army rising to become Field Marshal, he was also an ambassador and senator. A man of great wealth with a passion for art, he was keen to acquire works by Spanish painters, counting among them Goya, Murillo, Vicente López Portaña and Eduardo Rosales, who also painted some of the Palacio's ceilings. The couple never had children, so following the Marqués' death, his title passed to his niece while the palacio and its contents were inherited by his widow.

As testament to the painting's importance, Le Opere, Campiña Romana was subsequently owned by the Spanish banker and businessman Gustavo Baüer (1865-1916) who displayed it at his Palacio on Calle San Bernardo, Madrid (now the Escuela Superior de Canto), close to the Palacio de Marqués de Portugalete. Like the Marqués, Baüer, was an astute connoisseur whose wealth allowed him to build up a fine art collection. In addition to the present oil, Baüer loaned nine other Spanish paintings to the London Guildhall exhibition, 1901, to include works by Goya, Mariano Fortuny, José Moreno Carbonero and Vicente Palmaroli. Gustavo was the eldest son of Ignacio Salomón Baüer Landaeur (1827-1895) and Baroness Ida née Morpurgo. His father, who belonged to a Hungarian Jewish banking family, was sent as a Rothschild representative to Madrid, where he furthered the Rothschild enterprises and also opened up his own bank and served as a director for many other companies. Having entered his father's business at an early age, Gustavo successfully continued the enterprise after Ignacio's death and opened up further branches under the name of Baüer & Cie and subsequently Gustavo Baüer. Gustavo also remodelled the family palacio on Calle San Bernardo, famed for its parties and gatherings; in about 1900 he purchased another residence El Capricho, Alameda de Osuna, to the north east of the city, where he died on 23rd November 1916. Gustavo married his cousin Rosa Landaeur (1864-1948) with whom he had Ignacio Baüer Landaeur (1891-1961), Alfredo Baüer Landaeur (1893-1956) and Eduardo (d.1939), who continued the family business until its liquidation during the early 1930s. What happened to Tusquets' painting after Gustavo's early death is unrecorded, but it is possible that when Alfredo and his wife, the artist, Gisela née von Ephrussi, emigrated to Mexico at the start of the Civil War, they took Tusquets' painting with them. According to the present owners, the oil was acquired in Brazil, by their great grandfather Domingos Demarchi, who was living in Rio de Janeiro at the turn of the twentieth century. He again was a successful businessman and another great art lover whose collection included more than 270 paintings, of which most were European.

We are grateful to Alice Munro-Faure for compiling this catalogue entry.