Joan Brull

Joan Brull i Vinyoles (1863 - 1912) was a Catalan painter active in the late 19th century. He was a Catalan symbolist painter, along with other artists including Adrià Gual, Josep Maria Tamburini, and Alexandre de Riquer.

rull was born in Barcelona, Spain. He studied at the Escola de la Llotja and in Paris. He later worked as an art critic for the magazine Joventut. He participated in a variety of intellectual groups of the era, including the Els Quatre Gats and the Real Círculo Artístico de Barcelona.

Joan Brull studied art at the School Llotja in Barcelona, at the same time as other painters of the period. He was initially interested in historical themes, which he developed in a totally figurative style. An example of his work from this period is the picture "La tonsura de Wamba". Another theme frequently developed by Brull during this time was mythology, painting subjects such as "Nimfes al capvespre" (Nymphs at dusk) and Safo (Sappho). He was very much influenced by Modernisme (Art Nouveau), and became an important member of the movement.
His mature period started around 1885, and is characterized by sentimentalism, tenderness and a melancholic inspiration, which are manifested in his works Ensomni, Idil·li and Misticisme. In addition to his activity as a painter, he also was an art critic. He was also friends with Ramon Casas and Santiago Rusiñol. In 1896, he won first place in the International Exposition of Barcelona with his work Ensomni.

Joan Brull died in Barcelona in 1912.

In 2009, the Caixa Foundation Girona put on a retrospective exhibition in its Fontana d'Or Center, which featured over 40 works by Brull. Two other solo exhibitions were dedicated to him: in 1924 and in 1959.

Brull's early work is realistic, but later in his career he focused on symbolism, including representations of (typically female) mythological characters. He is also known for his many portraits, the majority of which were of children and beggars in Barcelona in the later 19th century.

Representative works:
La tonsura del rei Wamba
Ensomni
Sueño, currently in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)
Retrato de Niña, currently in the Biblioteca Museo Víctor Balaguer
http://hisour.com/artist/joan-brull/