Lluís Graner i Arrufí, or Arrufat in Spanish (5 February 1863–7 May 1929) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

painter in the Realistic style.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

, and studied at 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 ...

from 1883, with

Antoni Caba Antoni Caba i Casamitjana (1838 – 25 January 1907) was a Spanish painter who worked in the Realistic style and is best known for his portraits. Biography Antoni Caba was born in Barcelona. He attended the Escola de la Llotja during the 18 ...

(color/composition) and

Benet Mercadé Benet Mercadé i Fàbrega, in Spanish: Benito Mercadé y Fábregas (1821 – 10 December 1897) was a Catalan painter of portraits and historical scenes. Biography Mercadé was born in La Bisbal d'Empordà. His father was a painter and gil ...

(drawing). During his final year at school, he received a grant to study in Madrid, where he copied and learned from the

Old Master In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

s at the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from th ...

. After that, supported by a fellowship, he moved to Paris and became a member of the

Academie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

.Brief biography:
@ the

Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana The ''Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana'' (in English: the ''Great Catalan Encyclopedia'') is a Catalan-language encyclopedia, started in fascicles, and published in 1968 by . The soul of the work was written by Max Cahner, and the first director was ...

Later, he returned to Barcelona, but continued to travel to cities throughout Europe, including Berlin, Munich and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

. Influenced by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

's concept of "

Gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, literally 'total artwork', translated as 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of al ...

" (Total Work of Art), he was motivated to create his own total art experience and organized the "Sala Mercè" (Mercy Hall) in Barcelona's Rambla District. The project involved contributors from every artistic discipline, including the new field of

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...

. The room was decorated by

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, '' sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barc ...

. Other participants included Adrià Gual,

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 ...

Ramon Casas Ramon Casas i Carbó (; 4 January 1866 – 29 February 1932) was a Catalan artist. Living through a turbulent time in the history of his native Barcelona, he was known as a portraitist, sketching and painting the intellectual, economic, an ...

Enric Clarasó Enric Clarasó i Daudí (14 September 1857, Sant Feliu del Racó, now a suburb of Barcelona – 1941, Barcelona) was a modernist Catalan sculptor. Biography He was born into a family of artisans.Noel Clarsó. ''Clarasó. Col•lecció Gent nostr ...

, Enric Morera and

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

. Despite some early public enthusiasm, the endeavor was ultimately a failure and the Hall closed it doors in 1908, after only four years, obliging him to survive by painting portraits for wealthy clients.Joan M. Minguet i Batllori
"La Sala Mercè: de l'apogeu a la decadència" from Xavier Fabregas: "Lluís Graner i I'aportació del cinema a I'escenografia teatral", ''Aproxirnació a la historia del teatre catalas'', Editorial Curial, Barcelona, 1972 In his later years, he left Spain, living successively in Havana, New York and several other places while travelling to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. During these years, he lived almost entirely on money sent to him by his friends. He returned to Barcelona in 1928, the year before his death, and held a major show at the Hotel Ritz. He died in Barcelona.

Selected paintings

Forja o La Ferreria.JPG, ''The smithy'' (Barcelona) Interior de taverna - Lluís Graner - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.jpg, ''Tavern interior'' Luis Graner y Arrufi - Últimas Noticias.JPG, The Latest News Luis Graner y Arrufi - Fumante.JPG, Smoker Luis Graner y Arrufi - Perus ao sol.JPG, Turkeys in the Sun Lluís Graner i Arrufí - A Girl with Flowers.jpg, A Girl with Flowers

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Graner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graner, Lluis 1863 births 1929 deaths Painters from Catalonia 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links