Tomàs Moragas i Torras (1837,

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

– 20 October 1906,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

) was a Spanish painter; known for his Orientalist and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes.

Biography

Due to political turmoil, his family moved to Barcelona when he was still a baby. He showed some talent for art at an early age and was apprenticed to a silversmith. Later, in 1850, he attended the

Escola de la Llotja The Escola de la Llotja (, "Llotja School"; es, Escuela de la Lonja), officially the Escola d'Arts i Oficis de Barcelona (Barcelona Arts and Crafts School), is an art and design school located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school took its ...

, where his primary instructors were Claudi Lorenzale and Pau Milà i Fontanals.Lluís Moragas, ''Biografía del notable pintor Tomàs Moragas'', Anales y Boletín de los Museos de Arte de Barcelona, 1944 One of his fellow students was

Marià Fortuny Marià Josep Maria Bernat Fortuny i Marsal (; es, Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Marsal; June 11, 1838 – November 21, 1874), known more simply as Marià Fortuny or Mariano Fortuny, was the leading Spanish painter of his day, with an ...

, who went to Rome on a scholarship to continue his studies and suggested that Moragas come there too. In 1858 he did so, despite having no financial resources. Later, he was joined by some of his friends from the Escola, and they set up a studio just off the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had ...

. He also attended classes at the Accademia Chigi. During this time, he walked throughout Rome and its environs; making sketches that he would turn into oils and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

s, then send to art dealers in Paris and London. In 1864, he returned to Barcelona, where he held his first exhibition, at the silversmith's shop he had worked in as a boy. At this time, most of his works were of the

costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic scene, and particularly in the 19t ...

school. Two years later, with a recommendation from Fortuny, he exhibited at the studios of

Federico de Madrazo Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (9 February 181510 June 1894) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Rome, he was the son of José de Madrazo y Agudo, the painter and former Director of the Prado Museum. Federico's grandfather on his mother side ...

in Madrid. The following year, he participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where he obtained a first-class honorable mention. In 1869, he married Elvira Pomar; daughter of the silversmith. He then returned to Rome, where he developed an interest in

Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

but, due to a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic, he was forced to relocate to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. There, he came under the influence of the Naturalist painter,

Domenico Morelli Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italian painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the Accademia di ...

. In 1870, he and Fortuny visited Morocco, where his interest in the Orient was rekindled. After a short stay in Barcelona, he was back in Rome in 1873; beginning his most productive period. Fortuny died in 1874, and Elvira became ill, so he returned to Barcelona and settled there permanently. She died in 1877, and he never remarried. He opened a private drawing and painting school; attended by

Santiago Rusiñol Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (, ; Barcelona 25 February 1861 – Aranjuez 13 June 1931) was a Spanish painter, poet, journalist, collector and playwright. He was one of the leaders of the Catalan ''modernisme'' movement. He created more than a ...

and

Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1871–1959), known in Catalan as Hermenegild (or Hermen) Anglada Camarasa, was a Catalan and Balearic Spanish painter. Life and career Born in Barcelona, he studied there at the Llotja School. His early work had ...

, among others and, after 1877, served as a Professor at the Escola. From 1882, he held the same position at the "Escuela de Artes y Oficios" in

Vilanova i la Geltrú Vilanova i la Geltrú () is the capital city of Garraf ''comarca'', in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of Ba ...

. In 1883, he created the "Centro de Acuarelistas" (watercolorists) which later became the

Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc The Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (, meaning in English "Saint Lluc Artists' Circle") is an arts society which was founded in Barcelona (Catalonia) in 1893 by Joan Llimona, Josep Llimona, Antoni Utrillo, Alexandre de Riquer, the city councillo ...

. In 1888, he was artistic advisor for the Barcelona Universal Exposition.

Selected paintings

File:Moragas-Musicians.jpg, ''Street Musicians in Rome'', 1869 File:Tipus marroquí a cavall-T.Moragas MNAC.jpg, ''A Moroccan on horseback'', c. 1891 File:Moragas-Fabric.jpg, ''Choosing the Fabric'' File:Moragas-Caravan.jpg, ''Resting Caravan'' File:Moragas-Cattle.jpg, ''People with Cattle''

References

External links

More works by Moragas
ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Moragas, Tomas 1837 births 1906 deaths Spanish painters Painters from Catalonia Spanish orientalists Spanish genre painters People from Girona

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links