Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem is an oil on canvas painting by Ramon Casas, from 1897. It is held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, in Barcelona.
Description Casas painted Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem in 1897 specifically for the interior of Els Quatre Gats, a bar that was at the center of the Modernisme art movement in Barcelona.McCully (1978), p. 64. It depicts Casas and Pere Romeu, one of the promoters of Els Quatre Gats, on a tandem bicycle against the Barcelona skyline. Casas is seen in profile with his pipe, while Romeu looks directly at the viewer.Robinson et al, p. 81. Although painted on canvas, the composition has the graphic quality of a huge poster with its bold drawing and simplified forms, reflecting the fact that the artist was a skilled poster designer and illustrator.Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem and In an Automobile on the National Art Museum of Catalonia's YouTube channel
The original inscription in Catalan on the right side of the painting, which was later cut off, read "to ride a bicycle, you can't go with your back straight." The message described the attitude of the bar founders (two of whom are depicted here), that to make progress, you must break with tradition, as was done at Els Quatre Gats. In 1901, this painting was replaced with another large composition by Casas, entitled Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu in an Automobile, in which the tandem bicycle has given way to a car, symbolizing the new century. When reproductions of the two paintings appeared in the magazine Pel & Ploma, they were referred to as The End of the 19th Century and The Beginning of the 20th Century, respectively.Robinson et al., p. 82.
Exhibition history + Year Museum or gallery City Title Reference 1897-1900 Els Quatre Gats Barcelona 1958 Palau de la Virreina Barcelona Ramon Casas 1969 Casón del Buen Retiro Madrid El Modernismo en España 1970 Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art Barcelona El Modernismo en España 1978 Princeton University Art Museum Princeton Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900McCully (1978) 1978 Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900 1979 Palazzo Medici Riccardi Florence Picasso e dintorni. I Quattro Gatti. Il Modernismo catalano 1980 Palacio de Velázquez Madrid Cien años de cultura catalana 1880–1980 1981–1982 Saló del Tinell Barcelona Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 1982 Museum of Modern Art, Madrid Madrid Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 1982 Museu Picasso Barcelona Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 1982 Palau de la Virreina Barcelona Exposicion Ramon Casas 1983 Barcelona Museum of Modern Art Barcelona Els Autoretrats del Museu d'Art Modern 1984 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux Bordeaux 50 ans d'art espagnol 1880–1936 1985–1986 Hayward Gallery London Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 McCully (1986) 1987 Palau de la Virreina Barcelona Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 1987 The Prefectural Museum of Modern Art Kobe Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 1987 The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura Kamakura Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 1987 Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu Gifu Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 1990–1991 Barcelona Museum of Modern Art Barcelona El Modernisme 1992 Palau Robert Barcelona Art i esport a Catalunya 1995–1996 Museu Picasso Barcelona Picasso i els 4 Gats. La clau de la modernitat 2001 National Art Museum of Catalonia Barcelona Ramon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme Doñate and Mendoza (2001) 2001 Mapfre Vida Cultural Foundation Madrid Ramon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme 2001 Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais Paris Paris Barcelone de Gaudi a Miró 2002 Museu Picasso Barcelona Paris Barcelona 1888–1937 2006–2007 Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí Robinson et al. (2007) 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí
Notes
References Doñate, Mercè; Mendoza, Cristina: Ramon Casas. El pintor del modernisme. MNAC. 2001. (in Catalan) McCully, M. (1978) Els Quatre Gats: Art in Barcelona around 1900. Princeton University Press, Princeton. Robinson, W., Falgas, J., & Lord, C.B. (2007) Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, Dalí. Cleveland Museum of Art in Association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
Further reading Garcia, J.M. (1996) From Gaudi to Tàpies: Catalan Masters of the 20th Century. Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura. Lord, C.B. (1995) Point and Counterpoint: Ramon Casas in Paris and Barcelona 1866-1909. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
External links Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem on the National Art Museum of Catalonia website Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem and In an Automobile on the National Art Museum of Catalonia's YouTube channel Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem on Google Art Project