ABOUT THE WORK

With the mere presence of a massive pier as visual intervention to a glowing view of the sea at sunset, the painter seems to have created the story of man and his relationship with nature by patient observation and understanding. The artist, Enrique Serra y Auque has painted the monolithic pier exactly as it was, in accordance with his ideas about absolute visual truth, a view which was identified with the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Even with the predominance of the mirror like waters there is a certain earthiness about it, especially in the foreground. The whole picture area is a composition in which sea and sky come together as a harmonious whole. The relationships between the light and dark areas of a picture were important to the artist as the means by which the feeling of a painting could be transmitted instantly to the viewer. Enrique Serra y Auque began studying painting in his native Catalonia where he had as teachers the outstanding artists Ramon Martin Alsina and Domingo Talarn at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. When he was twenty years old in 1879, he went to Rome to continue his education, where he met Mariano Fortuny at the Chigi Academy, where they both cultivated a great friendship. In Rome, he was to succeed as an artist in such a way that he came to carry out commissions for Pope Leo XIII. Later, in 1895, he moved to Paris, The true artistic capital of Europe. There, in addition to continuing his successful career, his studio served as a meeting point for many young Spanish artists who came to the French capital to start their careers.