Busy Urban Life At The Carrefour Drouot In Paris By Gaspar Gaspar Miró I Lleó ( 1859-1930)

This scene of bustling city life at the Drouot crossroads in Paris was painted by Catalan painter Gaspar Miró i Lleó (Vilanova i la Geltrú 1859 - Barcelona 1930) during his stay in Paris from 1901 to 1914.

He received his first artistic training at the school of master Francesc Bonet Espasa. In his youth, he worked at the Hurtado lithography workshop and attended Joan Ferrer Miró's painting and drawing academy in Vilanova. Years later, he moved to Barcelona, where he studied at La Llotja under Ramon Amadó. Other teachers included Claudi Lorenzale, Lluís Rigalt and Antoni Caba. He lived in Paris (1884-1886), where he attended several free academies and returned as a still-life painter.

In 1886, he moved back to Vilanova and became a professor at the town's School of Arts and Crafts, founded the same year. He worked there for ten years, but eventually resigned following a reorganization of the establishment in order to devote himself fully to painting. Freed from his professional obligations, in 1899 he was able to present a selection of works at Barcelona's Sala Parés. With the exhibition over, he left in February 1901 with his family (wife and three children) for Paris. In his studio near the Parc du Luxembourg, he produced urban views, representations of the park and plein-air paintings, works that met with great success with art dealers. A year and a half later, he had to return to Catalonia for health reasons, but, although settled in Barcelona, he continued to paint. This production was divided in two: a large part was sent to his Parisian dealers and another to the Galerie Parés, where he exhibited again in November 1903. Once he had recovered, he returned to Paris with the ambition of making a name for himself in the art world. In 1904, he successfully exhibited for the first time at Hôtel Drouot until 1914. A popular painter, he was nicknamed "painter of the street" by the press, and was awarded the honorary title of "painter of the city of Paris" by the Paris City Council. The prefect gave him accreditation to set up his easel anywhere in the city, even on the balconies of official buildings.

As reported by Francesc X. Puig, quoting critic Sebastià Gasch: "Gaspar Miró is one of the Catalan painters who triumphed in Paris and is almost unknown in his native country."

In 1959, the Foment Vilanoví devoted a retrospective exhibition to him. The library of the Víctor Balaguer Museum currently holds some of his works.

Bibliography: Bénézit (in French), Wikipedia (in Catalan).

Inscriptions: signed lower right.

Technique: oil on wood mounted on panel.

Dimensions: unframed, W. 32.5 cm x H. 23.5 cm; framed, W. 54.5 cm x H. 47.5 cm.

Condition: restored and cleaned by a professional restorer; restoration of a fine longitudinal crack in the center of the panel.