Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (Spanish, 1872-1959)

Anglada-Camarasa spent his formative artistic years immersed in the vivacious cultural milieu of Barcelona. There he met other young and aspiring avant-garde artists such as Pablo Picasso and Santiago Ruisñol who introduced him to the city's burgeoning Modernisme group, Els Quatre Gats. As was de rigueur in the fin de siècle, he later ventured to Paris and there encountered the city's demi monde who became his primary subject while in the City of Light. Beginning in 1914, however, Anglada-Camarasa changed the focus of his work. With the outbreak of World War I, he returned to Spain, settling in Mallorca and centering his attention on the island's lush verdant landscapes. Mallorca's olive and pine groves became the principal protagonists of his work, replacing the flamboyant cabaret dancers and spectators of his Parisian period. Enlivening the serenity of these Mallorcan works are the artist's undulating, energetic brushstrokes and vibrant color juxtapositions, clearly expressed in the present painting. This period also marked a change in technique for the artist - rather than building up his canvases with glazes he instead applied paint thickly on to the canvas, directly from the tube, creating heavy layers of pigment seen here in the trunks of the trees.
By 1925, the year that Anglada-Camarasa executed Pinos de Formentor, he was enjoying widespread international success, having had well-received exhibitions in Munich, Vienna, Berlin, Buenos Aires and various cities in the United States. His reputation was further solidified that year when he was asked to serve on the selection committee for the Carnegie Institute's International, one of the most important venues for viewing contemporary art in the United States in the early 20th century.