Old Masters & Fine Art - Todos los lotes de Barcelona Auctions

Barcelona Old Masters & Fine Art sale brings together a compelling selection of Old
Master paintings, exceptional drawings, sculpture and decorative arts, alongside
distinctive examples of jewellery, watchmaking and twentieth-century design. Its
particular strength lies in the dialogue between major names and unexpected
discoveries: works with documented histories, intimate portraits and objects whose
craftsmanship rewards a closer look.

Leading the auction are two substantial paintings catalogued as works from the
workshop of Jan Brueghel the Elder: Presentation of Gifts at a Wedding in the
Presence of Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia and Country Wedding. Their richly
populated compositions invite the viewer into the intricate social world of Flemish
painting. The latter relates to the celebrated composition in the Museo del Prado,
offering a fascinating perspective on the circulation and reinterpretation of
Brueghel’s imagery. Another major highlight is Miguel Jacinto Meléndez’s
Presentation of the Instruments of the Passion to the Christ Child in Bethlehem, a
striking devotional composition reproduced in Elena Santiago Páez’s monograph on
the artist.

An exceptional selection of drawings forms one of the auction’s most compelling
chapters. Ramon Casas’s portraits of Júlia Peraire and Pompeu Gener combine
expressive immediacy with the presence of identifiable sitters. Alongside them,
Isidre Nonell’s A Beggar, executed in his distinctive fregit technique, and an early
drawing bearing documentation relating to the Real Círculo Artístico’s 1895 raffle
offer contrasting insights into his work. Signed ink drawings by Óscar Domínguez,
accompanied by certificates from Paule Cailac, extend the selection into a different
imaginative register. Together, these works make drawing a central attraction of the
sale.

The auction also gives particular prominence to an important group of works by
women artists, placing their artistic achievement at the heart of its narrative.
Montserrat Gudiol’s L’abraçada, painted in 1968, brings emotional intensity to the
selection, while Olga Sacharoff’s Phaeton Driven by a Young Woman offers a lyrical
counterpoint. Joana Soler’s imposing portrait of her sister Maria, signed and dated
1900, adds a deeply personal dimension. Presented alongside Pere Borrell del
Caso’s portrait of Joana herself, it creates a remarkable encounter between the
artist as creator and as subject. Works by Emília Coranty, Antònia Ferreras and Lola
Bech further enrich this strand of the auction.

Other highlights include Nonell’s Female Figure, an oil painting accompanied by an
authenticity report, and Casas’s Mounted Civil Guard, a documented preparatory
work for a larger composition. Sculpture is represented by a 1970 Musée Rodin
edition of Auguste Rodin’s seated female nude and Apel·les Fenosa’s Basilic,
numbered 2/5. Among the quieter discoveries is Antoni Clavé’s La Sainte Famille, a
signed lithograph on Japan paper numbered 1/2.

Beyond fine art, the sale offers a cabinet with Augsburg pictorial marquetry dating
to around 1600, a sixteenth-century Sicilian Virgin of Trapani from the collection of
Marià Andreu, and a Nicole Frères musical box retaining its original tune label. A
Dunhill-Namiki maki-e fountain pen, Belle Époque jewellery and a Jaeger-LeCoultre
Marina clock bring further variety, while designs by Piero Fornasetti, Olivier
Mourgue, Willy Rizzo and Josep Aregal carry the selection into the modern interior.
Spanning centuries, materials, and collecting traditions, this is an auction
distinguished by both its principal works and its capacity to surprise.