Equus and Magpie II

Equus and Magpie II (1993), a mixed media on panel measuring 54 x 44 cm signed by the revered Catalan master Josep Baqués (1931–2021), stands as a masterful testament to the Magic Realism and Poetic Surrealism of Mediterranean lineage that brought the artist international acclaim. The work unfolds an dreamlike universe of refined technical execution where the mythologized figure of the horse (Equus) transfigures into a volumetric mass with organic, metamorphic contours, engaging in perfect lyrical tension with the ethereal presence of a stylized female figure and the magpie strategically perched at the top as a symbol of omen and contemplation. Stylistically, Baqués displays a plastic virtuosity inherited from the graphic design tradition that marked his origins, blending almost Renaissance-like anatomical precision with textural exploration using subtle glazes, scraping, and gouache on wood that bestow an ageless patina akin to ancient frescoes upon the panel. The composition is structured around a pyramidal framework supported by a metamorphic still life of everyday objects—a pitcher, ceramic elements, and floating drapery—connecting the scene to the fantastical realms of Flemish painting and the lyrical stagecraft of Salvador Dalí, Remedios Varo, and Max Ernst, albeit stripped of drama to favor a metaphysical and introspective serenity. The chromatic palette, dominated by a symphony of nacreous tones, soft ochre, earth brown, ivory, and subtle greenish glints, demonstrates the painter's extraordinary skill in capturing sifted light and the weightlessness of forms. This mature work captures the poetic peak of an essential figure in 20th-century Catalan art whose creation dwells along the boundaries of tangible reality, classical mythology, and dreamscape.