Ramon, Artur
The book presents a selection of drawings from the Rafael Masó Foundation collection, acquired in the early 20th century by Rafael Masó Pagès, father of the architect Rafael Masó Valentí. The selection of drawings is accompanied by other works on paper from the same period, originating from private collections in Girona and Barcelona. The aim is to reclaim the art of the 18th and 19th centuriesoften disregarded for its academicismand to highlight the formal and thematic variety it offers. The collection features works by artists such as the Italians Teodoro Matteini and Giuseppe Lucini, the Valencians Mariano Salvador Maella, Vicente López and José Camarón, and the Madrilenians Zacarías González, Luis Paret and, above all, Eugenio Lucas Velázquez. As a whole, it reflects the role of art and collecting in a society, a country, and a city undergoing transformation, at the threshold of modernity.