Night. Barahona

MODEST URGELL I ENGLAND (1839-1919)

Barcelona, undated. End of the XIX century.

Pencil, ink and white wash on gray tinted vellum paper.

Good condition.

In a synthetic sketch we can see condensed one of the archetypal images of night landscaping: the dark profile of a city (Barahona) under the protective light of a full Moon and a sky dotted with stars. In times when night lighting was scarce or non-existent, the moonlight enhanced the contrast and the dark mass of the cities was more gloomy than nocturnal but inhabited by the stars.

This simple note maintains the melancholic spirit of the great romantic landscapes that made Modest Urgell’s work famous.