Tomàs Moragas (1837-1906) and the Roman Adventure

This exhibition presents a selection of works, objects, and documents that highlight the quality of the pictorial output of Tomàs Moragas i Torras (1837–1906), who became one of the leading exponents of fortunyism, as well as a renowned painter with international recognition. Light, genre painting, and Orientalism are the main themes of his work, following one of the pictorial trends most in demand in the European and North American markets. Precision of line, meticulous detail, and vibrant colours derived from the study of light are among his distinguishing features.

The exhibition showcases outstanding compositions that Moragas produced during his long stays in Rome (1858–1864, 1866–1869, and 1872–1876), as well as works from his journey to Granada (1871–1872), undertaken at the invitation of his friend Fortuny, and finally pieces from the period when the painter decided to return permanently to Barcelona until his death (1876–1906).

Tomàs Moragas (1837–1906) and the Roman Adventure is an exhibition that reclaims and contextualises Moragas’s work, proposing connections and comparisons with other contemporary artists with whom he established personal relationships and/or affinities. Like Moragas, many of them experienced the Roman adventure by following the light of Fortuny, which, like a beacon, opened a path full of new artistic possibilities and perspectives. Other creators such as Marià Fortuny himself, Nicolau Raurich, Enric Serra, Baldomer Galofre, Martín Rico, Antoni Fabrés, or Joan Roig, among many others, come together and engage in dialogue with Moragas’s work, reaffirming the relevance of fortunyism, a key movement in the art market of the second half of the nineteenth century.

Curated by Sergio Fuentes Milà