Isidre Nonell

Isidre Nonell i Monturiol (Catalan pronunciation: [iˈziðɾə nuˈneʎ], Spanish: Isidro Nonell y Monturiol) (November 30, 1872, Barcelona, Spain – February 21, 1911, Barcelona) a Catalonian painter and drawer belonging to post-impressionism known for his expressive portrayal of the socially marginalized of Barcelona society. (He is also said to belong to modernism and postmodernism.)

Life

Isidre Nonell was born in 1872 (not in 1873 as indicated by some biographers). His parents, Isidre Nonell i Torras de Arenys de Mar and Àngela Monturiol i Francàs of Barcelona, owned a small but prosperous factory of soup noodles. Together with his childhood friend, Joaquim Mir, with whom he attended the same school in the neighborhood of Sant Pere in the old part of town in Barcelona, he developed artistic ambitions at an early age.

His early teachers included Josep Mirabent, Gabriel Martínez Altés and Lluís Graner. From 1893 to 1895 he studied at the Escola de Belles Arts de Barcelona (Fine Arts School of Barcelona). He met Ricard Canals, Ramón Pichot, Juli Vallmitjana, Adrià Gual, and Joaquin Sunyer with whom he developed an interest in landscape painting, studying light. The study of sunlight and its effects on color were a main part of Impressionism, which was then active. They were called the "Saffron Group" for the warm tones they used, as well as the "Sant Martí Group" after the town they painted in.