JOAQUÍN SUNYER DE MIRÓ (Sitges, Barcelona, 1874 - 1956). "Girl". Oil on tablex. Signed in the lower left corner. Measurements: 90,5 x 58,5 cm. During the 19th century, beginning of the 20th century, the child portrait started to become more important, extending from the nobility to the bourgeoisie. This was largely due to a change in education, and in the way in which the relevance of children in the family environment was conceived. For this reason it is not surprising to find a work like this one, in which the boy is the only protagonist of the scene, unaccompanied by his parents. Considered one of the leading representatives of the noucentista style, Sunyer was the nephew of the painter Joaquim de Miró i Argenter, with whom he began to paint. His work is particularly notable for his landscapes and female nudes, as well as his portraits, which are far removed from traditional painting. His compositions are an example of balance, always seeking the evocative power of images, figures and atmospheres. After studying at the La Lonja School in Barcelona, Sunyer began his career as an illustrator of popular scenes in "La Vanguardia" in 1896. That same year he took part in the Fine Arts Exhibition. Shortly afterwards he settled in Paris, where he specialised in street scenes and intimate interiors, which he treated in a style influenced by prostimpressionism. In Paris he became friends with Picasso and Hugué, and exhibited at the Salons. During his Parisian period he worked with real dedication, evolving towards a Post-Impressionist language. Between 1905 and 1906 he travelled around Castile, on the initiative of the art dealer Henri Barbazanges, who wanted Spanish themes. He returned to Paris in 1907 and held several exhibitions in the French capital and Liège. He settled in Sitges in 1910, at a time when his style was gradually losing its post-impressionist influences and moving towards Mediterranean themes and the simplified canon figures of Cézanne. These years saw a major change in his painting, and he became a leading figure in Noucentisme. His new language, based on an essential composition of clear structures and sober, transparent colours, clearly Mediterranean, would create a school within Catalan art. The following year, in 1911, Sunyer organised a personal exhibition at the Faianç Catalá which placed him, after Nonell s death, at the head of Catalan painting at the time. During the following years he travelled and exhibited in Europe, but returned to Catalonia at the outbreak of the First World War. Settled in Sitges, he nevertheless took part in the Paris and Barcelona Salons. After fleeing Spain because of the Civil War, he returned to Spain and settled in Barcelona in 1942. In 1949 he was awarded the Legion of Honour, and subsequently special galleries were dedicated to him at the Hispano-American Art Biennials in Barcelona. At the Havana Biennial in 1954, he was awarded the Grand Prize for a lifetime s work. An anthological exhibition was also held in Madrid in 1974, commemorating the centenary of his birth. Joaquín Sunyer is currently represented at the MACBA, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Reina Sofía National Art Centre in Madrid.