Santiago Rusiñol

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner in the 1940s; thence by descent

Madrid, Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1908, no. 728 (titled Jardín de Raixa)
Barcelona, Sala Parés, 1909 (titled Escala de Raixa)
Paris, Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1909, no. 1030 (titled L'escalier du jardin)
Rome, Spanish Pavilion, Exposició Internacional, 1911, no. 140 (titled Scala signorile)

Rafael Balsa de la Vega, La Ilustración Española y Americana, Madrid, XVII, 1908, p. 274
Manuel Rodríguez Codolà, La Vanguardia, Barcelona, 1909, p. 5
S. Teixidor, El Noticiero Universal, Barcelona, 1909, p. 3
M. Vega I March, Diario de Barcelona, Barcelona, 1909, p. 557
El Eco de Sitges, 17.01.1909, p. 2
Ilustració Catalana, VII, 1909, p. 85
La Ilustración Artística, Barcelona, XXVIII, no. 1415, 1909, p. 113, illustrated (titled Mallorca, Jardines de Raxa)
La Ilustración Española y Americana, Madrid, 30 April 1913, illustrated (titled Jardín Señorial)
Jardins d'Espanya, 1914, illustrated (titled Pedres velles)
La Esfera, I, 42, 17 September 1914, illustrated (titled Jardín Señorial)
Jardins d'Espanya, 1925, illustrated (titled Piedras antiguas, Mallorca)
Josep de Calassanç Laplana, Santiago Rusiñol: el pintor, l`home, 1995, p. 380, no. 15.2.3 (titled Escala de Raixa)
Josep de Calassanç Laplana, Mercedes Palau-Ribes O'Callaghan, La Pintura de Santiago Rusiñol, vol. III, Barcelona, 2004, p. 131, no. 15.2.6, catalogued & illustrated (titled Pedres velles, Raixa, IV)

The canvas has not been lined. The canvas is slightly undulated, notably to the upper half of the composition. There is a spot of raised craquelure in the thick impasto of the purple flowers above the lion to the right, and some other scattered areas with very fine craquelure. Ultra-violet light reveals no particular sign of retouching. The picture is overall in good condition and ready to hang. There are traces of two old labels on the back. Presented in a decorative gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Santiago Rusiñol's burgeoning success as a painter enabled him to concentrate almost completely on the subject closest to his heart, Spain's gardens and landscapes. When Rusiñol travelled to Mallorca, he sojourned in the locality of Bunyola whose opulent gardens became the inspiration for works such as this.

The present work depicts the upper half of the flight of stairs dedicated to Apollo in the Raixa Gardens, north of Palma de Mallarco. Originally laid out by the Moors, the Raixa Gardens were redesigned by Cardinal Antoni Despuig i Cotoner during the eighteenth century. Begun in 1902 and completed in 1907, Pedres velles is one of four pictures Rusiñol painted of the steps.

The charismatic leader of Catalan Modernism, and a founder of Els Quatre Gats in Barcelona, Rusiñol travelled widely and spent extended periods in Paris. Notwithstanding his position as a leading member of the international avant-garde, however, it was in Spain that he was able to explore the full range of his resonant palette and where many of his most powerful and evocative works were completed.