Tomàs Moragas i Torras (1837,

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

– 20 October 1906,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

) was a Spanish painter; known for his Orientalist and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes.

Biography

Due to political turmoil, his family moved to Barcelona when he was still a baby. He showed some talent for art at an early age and was apprenticed to a silversmith. Later, in 1850, he attended the

Escola de la Llotja The Escola de la Llotja (, "Llotja School"; ), officially the Escola d'Arts i Oficis de Barcelona (Barcelona Arts and Crafts School), is an art and design school located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The school took its name from its initial ...

, where his primary instructors were

Claudi Lorenzale Claudi Lorenzale i Sugrañes (; 8 December 1814 – 31 March 1889) was a Spanish painter, associated with the German Nazarene movement and local efforts to recover the history of the Catalan region. Biography He was born in Barcelona. H ...

and

Pau Milà i Fontanals Pau Milà i Fontanals (26 December 1810, Vilafranca del Penedès - 16 January 1883, Barcelona) was a Spanish painter, writer and professor; specializing in art history and aesthetics. Biography He was born to a prosperous family. They promo ...

.Lluís Moragas, ''Biografía del notable pintor Tomàs Moragas'', Anales y Boletín de los Museos de Arte de Barcelona, 1944 One of his fellow students was

Marià Fortuny Mariano Fortuny y Marsal (June 11, 1838 – November 21, 1874) was a Spanish painter known for works focusing on Romantic fascination with Orientalist themes, historicist genre painting and military painting of Spanish imperial expansion. B ...

, who went to Rome on a scholarship to continue his studies and suggested that Moragas come there too. In 1858 he did so, despite having no financial resources. Later, he was joined by some of his friends from the Escola, and they set up a studio just off the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia () was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had f ...

. He also attended classes at the Accademia Chigi. During this time, he walked throughout Rome and its environs; making sketches that he would turn into oils and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

s, then send to art dealers in Paris and London. In 1864, he returned to Barcelona, where he held his first exhibition, at the silversmith's shop he had worked in as a boy. At this time, most of his works were of the

costumbrista ''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is Literary costumbrismo, the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primari ...

school. Two years later, with a recommendation from Fortuny, he exhibited at the studios of

Federico de Madrazo Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (9 February 181510 June 1894) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Rome, he was the son of José de Madrazo y Agudo, the painter and former Director of the Prado Museum, and Isabel Kuntz Valentini. Federico's gra ...

in Madrid. The following year, he participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where he obtained a first-class honorable mention. In 1869, he married Elvira Pomar; daughter of the silversmith. He then returned to Rome, where he developed an interest in

Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

but, due to a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic, he was forced to relocate to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. There, he came under the influence of the

Naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

painter,

Domenico Morelli Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italians, Italian painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the Ac ...

. In 1870, he and Fortuny visited Morocco, where his interest in the Orient was rekindled. After a short stay in Barcelona, he was back in Rome in 1873; beginning his most productive period. Fortuny died in 1874, and Elvira became ill, so he returned to Barcelona and settled there permanently. She died in 1877, and he never remarried. He opened a private drawing and painting school; attended by

Santiago Rusiñol Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (, ; Barcelona 25 February 1861 – Aranjuez 13 June 1931) was a Spanish painter, poet, journalist, collector and playwright. He was one of the leaders of the Catalan '' modernisme'' movement. He created more than ...

and

Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1871–1959), known in Catalan as Hermenegild (or Hermen) Anglada Camarasa, was a Catalan and Balearic Spanish painter. Life and career Born in Barcelona, he studied there at the Llotja School. His early work ha ...

, among others and, after 1877, served as a Professor at the Escola. From 1882, he held the same position at the "Escuela de Artes y Oficios" in

Vilanova i la Geltrú Vilanova i la Geltrú () is the capital city of Garraf ''comarca'', in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically, it is the result of the aggregation of the medieval center of La Geltrú with the center built outside the medieval w ...

. In 1883, he created the "Centro de Acuarelistas" (watercolorists) which later became the

Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc The Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (, meaning in English language, English "Saint Lluc Artists' Circle") is an arts society which was founded in Barcelona (Catalonia) in 1893 by Joan Llimona, Josep Llimona, Antoni Utrillo, Alexandre de Riquer, the ...

. In 1888, he was artistic advisor for the Barcelona Universal Exposition.

Selected paintings

(Barcelona) Male Nude by Tomás Moragas in MNAC.jpg, Male Nude in 1867 in MNAC. Moragas-Musicians.jpg, ''Street Musicians in Rome'', 1869 Tipus marroquí a cavall-T.Moragas MNAC.jpg, ''A Moroccan on horseback'', c. 1891 Moragas-Fabric.jpg, ''Choosing the Fabric'' Moragas-Caravan.jpg, ''Resting Caravan'' Moragas-Cattle.jpg, ''People with Cattle''

References

External links

More works by Moragas
ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Moragas, Tomas 1837 births 1906 deaths Spanish painters Painters from Catalonia Spanish orientalists Spanish genre painters People from Girona

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links