Canals, Ricard (1876-1931)

Together with his friends the painters Nonell, Mir, Pichot and Juli Vallmitjana, he formed part of the Colla del Safrà (Saffron Group), so called because of the colours used in their works. In 1897, together with Isidre Nonell, he travelled to Paris, where he exhibited at the Chez Dosbourg gallery. In those years he designed illustrations for magazines such as Le Rire. Nonell returned to Barcelona and Canals stayed on, working for the art dealer Durand-Ruel and coming into contact with Picasso. In Canals’s A Box at the Bulls, the wives of both painters would later appear, some time after returning to Barcelona in 1907.