Le paon blanc, 1904
Anglada Camarasa, Hermen
Barcelona, 1871 - Puerto de Pollensa, 1959
Le paon blanc, 1904 (The white peacock)
Signed lower right: ''Hermen Anglada-Camarasa / 1904''
Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
Oil on panel
78,5 x 99,5 cm
CTB.1996.49
Artwork history
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Dr. Pierre Delbet, París, c. 1908.
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Art Market, Madrid.
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Art Market, Barcelona, c. 1988.
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Barcino Art, Barcelona.
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Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
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-Kuzmany, K. M.: ”Die VI Internationale Kunstausstellung der Stadt Venedig”. Die Kunst. vol. XI, n. 20, July 15, 1905, p. 471, lám.
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-”La VI Esposizione di Arte a Venezia. La pittura straniera”. Tempo. 1905.
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-Leblond, M. A.: ”Hermen Anglada”. L’Art et les Artistes. Paris, April-September 1908, vol. 5, n. 7 , pp. 213-218, lám.
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-Monneret de Villard, U.: ”Anglada”. Vita d’Arte. February 1908, vol. I, n. 2, pp. 80-97, lám.
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-Marcel, H.: ”Hermen Anglada”. Gazette des Beaux Arts. París, 1909, year 51, pp. 106-117.
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-Periquet, F.: ”El pintor Anglada-Camarasa”. Hojas Selectas. Barcelona, 1909, vol. VIII, pp. 564-568, lám.
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-Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana. Barcelona, José Espasa e Hijos, 1909-1933, (1909), vol. 5, p. 561, lám.[- T. I-LXX : A – Z – Appendices I-X : A – Z — 1934-1998, annual supplements — Index 1934-1996].
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-Gozalbo, A.: ”Hermen Anglada y Camarasa”. Athinae. Revista Argentina de Bellas Artes. March 1911, year III, n. 31, pp. 65-73, lám.
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-Pica, V.: ”Hermen Anglada y Camarasa”. Kunst für Alle. Múnich, February 1, 1912, pp. 196-209, lám.
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-Owen Lublin, C.: ”Hermen Anglada of Spain, a Spanish genius little known in America”. Town and Country. February 1917, lám.
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-Hutchinson Harris, S.: The Art of H. Anglada-Camarasa. A Study in Modern Art. London, The Leicester Galleries, 1929, p. 23, lám. XXII.
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-Bocchoritano, A. S.: ”Centenario de H. Anglada Camarasa. Instantánea de toda una obra”. Diario de Mallorca, July 20, 1973, lám.
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-Torrel-Borderioux, F.: ”Anglada-Camarasa en París”. Estudios Pro Arte. Barcelona, April-June 1976, n. 6, p. 13, lám.
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-Fontbona, Francesc y Miralles, Francesc: Anglada-Camarasa. Barcelona, Polígrafa, 1981, pp. 61 (lám. 129), 248 (n. B122, lám.), 309.
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–Anglada-Camarasa. [Exhib. Cat.]. Madrid, Obra Cultural de la Caja de Pensiones, 1982, p. 64, lám.
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–Anglada-Camarasa. [Exhib. Cat.]. Palma de Mallorca, Obra Cultural de la Caixa de Pensions, 1982, p. 59, lám.
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-Paz, M.: ”Anglada-Camarasa”. Pueblo. Madrid, February 26, 1982, lám.
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-Mendoza, Cristina: “La pintura del Modernisme”. Barcelona 1990, vol. II, pp. 167-181, lam. pp. 180-181.
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–El Modernisme. [Exhib. Cat. Barcelona, Museu d’Art Modern, 1990-1991]. 2 vols., Barcelona, Olimpíada Cultural, 1990, vol. II, n. 467, p. 188.
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–El París d’Anglada-Camarasa. [Exhib. Cat]. Madrid, Sala Blanquerna, 1994, pp. 40, 62, lám.
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–De Canaletto a Kandinsky. Obras maestras de la colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Llorens Serra, Tomás (ed.). [Exhib. Cat. Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza]. Madrid, Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, 1996, n. 87, p. 222. [Sheet by Francesc Fontbona].
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–Jardines de España (1870-1936). [Exhib. Cat. 1999-2000]. Madrid, Fundación Cultural Mapfre Vida, 1999, p. 194, lám. p. 195 [Sheet by Lily Litvak].
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-Calvo Serraller, F.: Las cien mejores obras del siglo XX. Historia visual de la pintura española. Madrid, 2001, p. 28, lám.
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-Fontbona, F. (ed.): El Modernisme III. Pintura i dibuix. Barcelona, Edicions L’isard, 2002.
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-Fontbona, Francesc: “Anglada-Camarasa i els postmodernistes de París”. El Modernisme III 2002, pp. 241-260, cit. p. 242.
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-García Guatas, Manuel: “El mundo pictórico de Anglada-Camarasa”. Fontbona, Francesc y Miralles, Francesc: Anglada-Camarasa [1871-1959]. [Exhib. Cat.]. Madrid, Fundación Cultural Mapfre Vida, 2002, pp. 28-45, cit. p. 30, lám. p. 31.
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-Balsach, Maria-Josep (ed.): Modernismo e Avanguardia. Picasso, Miró, Dalí e la pittura catalana. [Exhib. Cat. Cremona, Museo Civico Ala Ponzone]. Milan, Skira, 2003.
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-Faxedas, M. L.: “Dementi, belle di notte e paessaggio catalano: pittori di fine secolo tra modernismo e noucentisme”. Cremona 2003, pp. 47-59, n. 10, lám. p. 59.
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-Mendoza, Cristina y Eduardo: Barcelona modernista. Barcelona, Seix Barral, 2003, n. 96, p. 168, lám.
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-Fontbona, Francesc: Hermen Anglada-Camarasa. Madrid, Fundación Mapfre. Instituto de Cultura, 2006, cit. p. 28, lám. pp. 40-41.
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–La tradición moderna en la Colección Carmen Thyssen. Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Miró, Málaga, Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga, 2011, p. 86, lám. p. 87.
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-Paisatges de llum, paisatges de somni. De Gauguin a Delvaux. Col·lecció Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Espai Carmen Thyssen, 2012, p. 86, lám. p. 87. [Exhib. Cat.]
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–Anglada-Camarasa. Arabesco y seducción. Colección Fundación “la Caixa”, Málaga, Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga, 2012, n. 16, p. 92, lám. p. 93, det. p. 36. [Exhib. Cat.]
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–La rosa di fuoco. La Barcelona di Picaso e Gaudí, Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 2015, n. 92, p. 102, lám., det. p. 99.[Exhib. Cat.]
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-Escenarios. De Monet a Estes. De Trouville a Nueva York. Colección Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza. Museu Carmen Thyssen Andorra, 2017, p. 40-41. [Exhib. Cat.] [Sheet by Francesc Fontbona]
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-Impressionism and Spanish Art. Museum of Russian Impressionism & Aurea Cultura i Art. Moscú. [Exhib. Cat. Museum of Russian Impressionism, curator: Francesc Fontbona], Moscú, 2019, Cat. 31 , p. 132-133.
Expert report
Le paon blanc is one of the most important works of Herman Anglada-Camarasa’s first Parisian period, which lasted from 1894 -the year in which the painter first entered in contact with the French capital- until 1904, when a stay in Valencia during the summer introduced a new concept and a new subject matter into his work.
When he conceived Le paon blanc, the title with which Anglada established a metaphore in which he compared the courtesan in the white dress who dominates the painting with a peacock, the painter was already at the height of his glorious international career. He had already exhibited in Barcelona, París, Berlin and London several times as well as in Brussels, Ghent, Dusseldorf, Dresden and Vienna. When he showed the panel in Munich and Venice it was already the second time that he exhibited his work in these cities.
The painting was bought around 1908 by Dr. Pierre Delbet irom Paris, in whose collection it remained for many years so that it was kept from participating again in exhibitions until the 1980’s, when it belonged to a Madrilenean art dealer. Around 1988 it was passed on to a group of Catalan dealers.
At the beginning of the century Anglada already conceived of his art as a mere exercise for pure painting in which the subject matter was only an excuse for developing his magnificent chromatism.
No moral interest conditioned his work despite some expresionistic tendencies, and no Naturalist interest either. Anglada fully departed from the concept of a painting as «a flat surface covered with colors that are put together with a certain amount of order» as Maurice Denis, the Nabi painter, preached.
The latter belonged to the same generation as Anglada and like him and the rest of the members of the group he had passed through the Académie Julian.
As far as his style is concerned, between the Garden of Paris, from around 1900, and Le paon blanc -of four years later- Anglada elaborated a very personal interpretation of the most sincere form of Post-Impressionism, which at the time was becoming successful amongst Europe’s most innovating circles, by very frequently working with artificial ligbting.
Without changing his concept of painting, over the course of these four or five years Anglada’s work evolved from a magnetic and soft style to a vibrant chromatic joy that was supported by a solid structuring of stains in which he wisely combined intensely iridescent whites with darker tones of a very ample variety that were prepared with the highest-quality pigrnents. This stooped violence after Anglada’s previous aestheticism and the exuberant richness of his colors made a sharp critic like Elie Faure qualify the Catalan artist as «outstanding.»
All in all and despite the little testimonial interest shown by Anglada, his works of this period are -amongst many other things and seen from today’s perspective- fascinating images of Paris by night during a legendary period, which the artist fully experienced and participated in. He reigned in its artistic circles with enormous authority until World War I chased the artist away and made his world come apart, which during many years made people forget the high degree of recognition he had once
enjoyed.
Francesc Fontbona