Carlos Nadal (1917-1998)

Carlos Nadal was a celebrated Spanish painter who lived in Paris during the first years of his life. These early years were instrumental to Nadal’s development as an artist. His father had a commercial design studio and was acquainted with established artists from Montparnasse such as Maurice Utrillo, Raoul Dufy and Henri Matisse, exposing the young Nadal particularly to the Fauvist techniques from the two latter artists, which would influence his own practice.

In 1921, when Nadal was five years old, the Nadal family moved to Barcelona and it is here that he developed his practice during his adolescence. From the age of 16 Nadal joined the Catalan artistic circle Cercles Artistis de Sant Lluc, which predominantly acted as a forum for artistic debate and provided exhibition opportunities for young emerging artists. It was a time where Nadal experimented with various new concepts and forms that were developing in Spain, but which ended abruptly during the outbreak of Spanish Civil War in 1936.

‘The Beach’

Oil, Watercolour & Gouache on Panel - 8” x 11” - Signed

Jean Baptiste Olive (1848-1936)

Olive’s artistic talents were evident from a young age, and at the advice of a local artist named Étienne Cornellier, he was enrolled at the École des BeauxArts de Marseille.

Following his studies, Olive entered the studio of Gustave

Julien and then Étienne Cornellier, with whom he travelled to Paris for the first time. In Paris, Olive became immersed in the bohemian circle of artists and writers that lived around Montmartre and soon assisted with the painting decorations of Sacré Coeur du Montmartre and the pavilions of the World Fair of 1889. Olive began to exhibit in the Paris Salons and received numerous awards for his vibrant and colourful landscapes, becoming a member of the Société des Artistes Français in 1881, a year which marked the beginning of a long and successful artistic career.