" Lively Scene At The Port " Isidre Odena Daura (1910-2008)

Isidre ODENA DAURA (1910–2008)

Biography

Isidre Odena i Daura was born on January 4, 1910, in the Sant Pere neighborhood of Terrassa and was baptized in the Romanesque churches under the names Isidre Joan and Josep. At the age of thirteen, he enrolled in the School of Arts and Crafts, where he studied under the master Tomas Viver. A few years later, he alternated his studies at the Llotja in Barcelona with time spent in the studio of the decorator

Alarma and training under the master Cabanes.

In 1927, he rented a large attic studio—the former studio of painter Joaquim Vancells—which he soon handed over to a group of friends, who were also painters, thus giving rise to the Friends of the Arts association.

At the age of eighteen, he was already exhibiting his paintings in his hometown as well as in Vic, Mataró, Figueres, Perpignan, and elsewhere.

In 1931, he received a grant from the Terrassa City Council

and spent a season in Paris and Belgium, notably in Bruges, where he took pleasure in painting the city’s idyllic canals (Bruges is nicknamed the “Venice of the North”). In Paris, he met, among others, Pau Planes, Torres García, Julio González, Mompou, the poet Joseph Rivière, the lawyer Henry Torres, and others. At the same time, he submitted two paintings to the Salon d’Automne in Paris, where they were mentioned in the press.

After completing his military service, he continued to paint and also devoted himself to woodcut and linoleum engraving. His most famous work is the illustration for *The Legend of the Dragon of Sant Llorenç del Munt*, based on a poem by

Pons. This work is signed with the name Sidru.

He exhibited on several occasions in Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia, as well as in Valencia, Zaragoza, Paris, Toulouse, Lyon, and London, where he spent extended periods of time.

He also devoted himself to small-scale paintings, which were highly appreciated by international audiences, particularly his market scenes in Plaça de Vic, which have been exhibited around the world.

He also entered a competition for a position as a teacher of drawing and applied arts in the Generalitat’s elementary schools, and secured a position that allowed him to devote himself to his hometown. His exhibition at the Amics de les Arts in Terrassa provided an opportunity to welcome the great Francesc Macia, who wrote the following in the guestbook:

“My spirit soared at the sight of the impression that the artistic works of the young painter Isidre Odena made on me.”

Oil on original marouflaged cardboard mounted on a wooden panel, signed lower left.

Dimensions: 24 x 33 cm
with gilded frame: 41 x 50 cm