Eliseo Meifrén, Barcelona 1859-1940

Galería Barbié, Barcelona
Purchased from the above circa 1970 by the parents of the present owners

Marina, sur de Francia epitomises Meifrén's paintings of fishing villages and boats which he painted in Mallorca, in the region of Cadaqués on the Catalonian coast, and along the bordering French riviera. In his choice of subject he was following a tradition in Catalan painting, along with fellow Catalan artists Santiago Rusiñol and Joaquín Mir. However, Meifrén's work, and in particular the present painting, also shows influences from farther afield. During the 1870s Meifrén completed his training and worked in Paris, where he would have come into contact with the work of the new generation of French plein air painters whose pictures were inspired by the coasts and light of Brittany and Normandy, and whose influence on artists across Europe was considerable. Their subjects and style were adopted, most famously, in England by the painters of the Newlyn School, but painters like Meifrén found inspiration in their atmospheric views as well. Though a view of the calm Mediterranean, Marina, sur de Francia is characterised by a similar subdued atmosphere and grey tonalities.