Isidre Nonell Facts for Kids

Isidre Nonell with two women subjects, about 1904

Isidre Nonell i Monturiol (born November 30, 1872 – died February 21, 1911) was a Spanish painter. He was famous for showing the lives of people who were often ignored in society. He painted them in Barcelona during the late 1800s.

Life of Isidre Nonell
Isidre Nonell's Artworks
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Life of Isidre Nonell

Isidre Nonell was born in 1872 in the city of Barcelona, Spain. His parents, Isidre Nonell i Torras and Àngela Monturiol i Francàs, owned a small but successful factory. They made soup noodles. Isidre became friends with Joaquim Mir when they were children. They went to the same school in the old part of Barcelona. Both boys wanted to become artists from a young age.

Early Art Studies

Isidre's first art teachers included Josep Mirabent, Gabriel Martínez Altés, and Lluís Graner. From 1893 to 1895, he studied at the Fine Arts School of Barcelona. There, he met other artists like Ricard Canals and Ramón Pichot. They became interested in painting landscapes and studying how light worked. This focus on light and color was a big part of Impressionism, a popular art style at the time.

The "Saffron Group"

Isidre and his friends were sometimes called the "Saffron Group." This was because they used warm, yellowish colors in their paintings. They were also known as the "Sant Martí Group" after the town where they often painted.

Illustrations for Newspapers

In 1894, Nonell started drawing pictures for a newspaper called La Vanguardia. Later, he also drew for other magazines and papers. These included L'Esquella de la Torratxa, Barcelona Cómica, and Pèl & Ploma.

Trip to Caldes de Boí

In 1896, Nonell traveled with his friends Ricard Canals and Juli Vallmitjana. They went to a spa town called Caldes de Boí in the Pyrenees mountains. Juli Vallmitjana's family ran the spa. There, Nonell saw many people suffering from an illness called cretinism. He was moved by their condition and started to paint them.

Time in Paris

In February 1897, Isidre Nonell went to Paris, France, with Ricard Canals. He showed his art there and even shared an art studio with the famous artist Picasso. Nonell returned to Barcelona in 1900. In 1901, he began painting women, especially gypsy women and working-class women. He also painted still lifes, which are pictures of objects.

Exhibitions and Reactions

Nonell had two art shows in Barcelona, in 1902 and 1903. He showed paintings of poor gypsy women. Many people did not like these paintings. They found the subjects difficult to look at. Isidre Nonell died in Barcelona from typhoid fever when he was 38 years old.

Isidre Nonell's Artworks

Isidre Nonell's oil paintings show influences from impressionism and pointillism. However, he used these styles in his own unique way. He often used thick brushstrokes, layering colors without fully mixing them. This gave his paintings a strong, direct feeling. His main subjects were people who were often overlooked. He painted poor women, sometimes with their children, and gypsy people. He also painted soldiers who had returned wounded from the Spanish–American War. Nonell also painted people suffering from cretinism, showing their lives with honesty.