Ramón Casas

Max Schweitzer Gallery, New York
Sala Parés, Barcelona
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 1976

Barcelona, Sala Parés, Una exposición extraordinaria. Horas felices de la pintura catalana, 1972, no. 6, illustrated in the catalogue
Barcelona, Rally Oficial Fédération internationale des voitures anciennes, XI Gran Premio Internacional. Circuito Catalán, 1973
Barcelona, Sala Parés, Centenari de la Sala Parés: Exposició Commemorativa dels 100 anyos de la Sala, 1977, no. 14
Barcelona, Sala Parés, Homenatge a Ramón Casas 1866-1932 amb motiu del 50è aniversari de la seva mort, 1982, no. 16, illustrated in the catalogue

Joan Antón Maragall, Història de la Sala Parés, Barcelona, 1975, p. 363, pl. 356, illustrated
La Vanguardia, 4 July 1982, illustrated
Commemoració de la Renaixença. En ocasió del 150 Aniversari de l'oda LA PÀTRIA, d'Aribau (1833), 1982, Barcelona, p. 76, illustrated
Alfonso Alcolea Albero, Ramón Casas, Sabadell, 1990, pp. 140-141, illustrated
Isabel Coll, Ramón Casas, Catálogo Razonado, Murcia, 2002, p. 365, no. 487, catalogued & illustrated (as La Cochera), p. 101, a detail illustrated

The canvas has not been lined. Apart from a handful of very small spots of retouching, notably to the temple of the monk and another small spot on the wheel to his left, this painting is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'I know how to mix and dress a salad. I also drive well. Some also say that I draw and paint quite well too.'
Ramón Casas

Painted circa 1907, the present work is not only a fascinating record of the early days of motoring, but a subject close to Casas's heart. The proud owner of one of the first cars in Spain, he relished the experience of being behind the wheel, and even turned his passion into a subject to paint (fig. 1). He was a founder member of the Real Automóvil Club (Royal Automobile Club) of Catalunia, and creator of the club's logo. The setting for La Cochera is probably the coach house of Casas's home in Navarcles, the Sant Benet de Bages Monastery, and the car can be identified as an early Delaunay-Belleville.

Casas's fascination with the car was shared by Toulouse-Lautrec, whose lithograph L'Automobiliste of 1896 was one of the earliest images European art to feature a car and to play up the glamour associated with its power and speed (fig. 2). Casas's composition not only hints at the social change taking place in Spain at the turn of the century, and at the social mobility that car ownership afforded; it is a powerful expression of the end of the era of horse-drawn transport, and the dawn of the new age of the internal combustion engine. On the left, the horse-drawn carts and traditional costumes of the monk, the police officer, and two other locals, are in stark contrast to the polished lines of the car on the right - a feat of modern day engineering. Its gleaming cowling and lamps confront the viewer head on, commanding our attention, the starting handle already inserted in the crankshaft.

At the beginning of the twentieth century Delaunay-Belleville was one of the most prestigious car makers in the world, and arguably the most desirable French marque. The first four-cylinder car, with its trademark round radiator grille, was exhibited at the 1904 Paris Salon, where it received enormous acclaim. By 1906 Tsar Nicholas II had purchased a forty-horsepower model, the most powerful of the range. Other royal owners included King George I of Greece and King Alphonso XIII of Spain.

One of the founding members of the El Quatre Gats circle of artists in Barcelona, and a leading representative of the Catalan Modernista movement, at just sixteen Ramón Casas travelled to Paris with Santiago Rusiñol to study at the Académie Gervex under Carolus Duran. Finding almost immediate success, in 1883 he exhibited at the Salon des Champs Elysées. In 1900 Casas held his first solo show at the Sala Parés in Barcelona, establishing him as the leading Catalan painter of his day.