Still Life with Female Profile

This monumental graphic work by Josep Baqués (Santa Coloma de Gramenet, 1931 – Barcelona, 2021) executed on sumptuous vat-made or handcrafted paper with visible deckle edges, represents a piece of refined technical and iconic sophistication within late-20th-century Catalan lyrical surrealism and magic realism. The composition, structured in layered registers, combines elements of domestic still life —earthenware coffee pots, a wire basket with eggs, and ceramic vessels— with an enigmatic female profile of classical inspiration inscribed within a circular segment, establishing a dialogue between physical daily life and metaphysical reverie. From a technical standpoint, the printing technique showcases a masterful command of combined lithography and screenprinting or matter printmaking, characterized by a rich color palette of ochres, earth tones, sepias, and olive nuances, enhanced through subtle transparencies, glazes, and intricate incised hatching that lends a tactile and timeless texture to the surface. Hand-signed in pencil by the artist in the lower right corner and annotated in the lower left corner with the initials "H.C." (Hors Commerce or artist's proof), the print holds exceptional bibliophilic and collectible value as a copy historically reserved for the artist or the print shop. Stylistically, Baqués draws from the Catalan Noucentisme tradition in the serenity of his figures, the geometric purity of Synthetic Cubism exemplified by Ben Nicholson and Giorgio Morandi in the arrangement of everyday static objects, as well as the dreamlike atmosphere of Giorgio de Chirico and the graphic elegance of post-war publishing and advertising design, a field in which he was an undisputed pioneer. Internationally recognized and awarded honors such as the FAD Gold Medal, Josep Baqués's artistic and graphic output is housed in major public institutions and museum collections, notably the Sitges Contemporary Museum (Stämpfli Foundation), the Biblioteca de Catalunya, the Museu de Badalona, the Museu de la Marina in Vilassar de Mar, and the art collection of the Diputació de Barcelona, alongside prominent private collections across Europe and the Americas.