Durancamps Folguera, Rafael
(Sabadell 1891 - Barcelona 1979)

Rafael Durancamps since childhood was passionate about painting. Although his father was not pleased about his son being a painter, Durancamps achieved his objective with firmness, tenacity, a talent for technique and, above all through diligence and a lot of painting. Sabadell, Paris, Cadaqués and Barcelona are some of the places that have been honored as subjects of his paintings.

He practically was a self- taught artist only attending night classes at the School of Industrial Arts and Trades at Sabadell with the professor Joan Vila Cinca. Opposing the desires of his family, whom as accomplished textile manufacturers wanted their heir to follow the patriarchal tradition, he intensified his intention to study art. While making trips to Madrid, as a representative of the family textile business, he studied the paintings of the grand masters represented at the Prado.

Joaquim Mir spent one season in Mollet del Vallès, and Durancamps established a short relationship with him, noted his work and made paintings that reflect clearly the influence of the great teacher. He painted with tenacity and an iron will and he triumphed in his great ambition exposing for the first time in Barcelona, in the Laietanes Galleries, with a set of landscapes called "Vibrations". He was encouraged by his success and, he began passing more time in Madrid.

As soon as he returned to his city, he participated in diverse contests, in which he obtained important prizes (Masriera Medal, 1920) and, in 1929, decorated eight panels in the Casas Consistorials. He then exposed several times in the Sala Parés in Barcelona.

He relocated to Paris, where he resided until 1941. There he encountered Picasso, who encouraged him to carry out exhibitions in the Zak gallery. He continued to expose in Paris where each exposition brought greater success and appreciation for his artistic achievements.

He returned to Spain to see his family in San Sebastián where, in 1939, he carried out an exhibition. The same year he returned to exhibit his works in the Sala Parés of Barcelona, in which he continued to expose until his death.

Also, he made different exhibitions in Madrid, Sabadell, Bilbao, Valencia, London and Philadelphia, always with an extraordinary success receiving general admiration towards his work and his impassioned personality. Although his first stage was influenced by Mir, he quickly evolved toward his own style: a distinct notion, giving superiority to the appropriate constructive line combined with a sensitivity to color evoking a sharp and sober beauty.

His landscapes, that deal richly with a zurbaranesca line and exhibit a limpid transparency, are a prodigy of serenity and elegance with such a personal seal that they escape any contemporary classification. His simple scenes of daily life, especially the games of the bulls in different Spanish towns, are of an extraordinary quality. The "skies" express the dramatic quality of whichever celebration is the subject. Diverse museums of Barcelona, Madrid and other cities of the world exhibit his works.