CARLOS DE HAES (Brussels, 1829 - Madrid, 1898) and JAUME MORERA GALICIA (Lleida, 1854 - Madrid,

CARLOS DE HAES (Brussels, 1829 - Madrid, 1898) and JAUME MORERA GALICIA (Lleida, 1854 - Madrid, 1927).
"Landscape with figures".
Oil on canvas.
Signed by both painters in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 46 x 67 cm.
Two great master landscape painters combine their knowledge in this painting, resulting in a singular capture of nature. This rural corner, in which a peasant family gathers firewood for their home, has been resolved with rapid brushstrokes, with a double pulse. A misty sky of silvery light reverberates on the vegetation, giving it a cottony quality.
Carlos de Haes, who came from a Belgian family in Malaga, began his training as a pupil of Luis de la Cruz. In 1850 he decided to continue his studies in his native land, learning from the great Flemish landscape painters. At the same time he came into contact with contemporary Belgian artists, who exhibited regularly at the Brussels Salons. Once there, he worked with the landscape painter Joseph Quinaux, who introduced him to plein air painting, a key to the formation of his artistic personality. He returned to Spain and began to reap success, such as the third medal at the National Exhibition of 1856. The following year he was appointed professor of landscape painting at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts, a position from which he trained a whole generation of landscape painters in the practice of plein air painting, within realism. His pupils were Aureliano Beruete and Darío de Regoyos. He continued to win prizes, such as the first medal at the National Exhibition of 1858. In 1860 he was appointed a member of the Academy of San Fernando, the same year he won another first medal at the National Exhibition. He again won the first medal in 1862. He introduced landscape painting into Spanish painting, to the extent that the first chair of landscape painting at the San Fernando Academy was created for him. His views are composed in the classical manner, albeit with a predominance of the earth over the sky, which normally occupies a third of the canvas. Haes considered landscape to be a genre for connoisseurs, as it is difficult to treat and understand. He stated that the aim of art is the truth to be found in the faithful imitation of nature, for which the painter must have a profound knowledge of nature and not be carried away by the imagination. This is why he prefers to finish his works in the studio, in order to capture the concrete moment, since nature itself is constantly changing. Most of Carlos de Haes's work is in the Prado Museum, but he is also represented in the Fine Arts Museums of Bilbao, Malaga, Valencia and Lleida, in the Jaime Moreda Foundation and in the National Gallery in London.
A landscape painter, Morera trained in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome. On his return to Spain in 1877, he set up his studio in Lleida and made numerous trips around the Iberian Peninsula, painting his various landscapes. He finally settled in Madrid, from where he travelled to Holland, Belgium and France, following in the footsteps of his master. He took part in exhibitions in Spain and abroad, particularly at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. He won numerous distinctions throughout his career, including the second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1878, the first medals at the 1892 and 1901 editions, and the posthumous diploma of honour at the Barcelona International Exhibition of 1929. Morera Galicia represented a landscape movement opposed to Impressionism and Luminism, in favour of direct experience of nature and attracted by Nordic landscapes. In 1917 he founded the Morera Galicia Museum of Modern Art in Lleida, which houses an extensive collection of his own works and those of other excellent artists, including those bequeathed to him by his master. He is also represented in the Prado Museum, the Valencia Fine Arts Museum and the San Telmo Museum.