The National Museum revisits the work of Carles Casagemas

Continuing in the vein of exhibitions designed to further the recognition of lesser-known artists, an initiative that began with the Josep Tapiró exhibition earlier this year, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is currently hosting a monographic exhibition dedicated to the work of Carles Casagemas. Born in Barcelona in 1880, Casagemas’s myth is founded on two pillars - his close friendship with Pablo Picasso and his suicide in Paris at just twenty years old. The current exhibition, however, is an attempt to reveal the promising artistic output that has since been overshadowed by the legend.

With a total of thirty-eight pieces, including seven canvasses and thirty-one sketches, the exhibition Casagemas. The Artist Behind the Myth, reveals the wide variety of styles and registers employed by the young creator. A portrayer of both the wealthier and seedier sides of Barcelona, Casagemas’ work is alternately influenced by the first generation of modernist artists such as Ramon Casas and the work of Isidre Nonell, Joaquim Mir and Picasso himself.

Expressionist brush-strokes, distorted visages and caricaturesque self-portraits are some of the stylistic legacies of the artist’s abruptly foreshortened period of training and experimentation. The exhibition also includes a number of letters, documents and writings by both Casagemas and others in an effort to help to contextualise the figure of the artist.

Casagemas. The Artist Behind the Myth can be seen in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya up until the 22nd of February. Entry is priced at 4 € and more information is available here.