Santiago Rusiñol - Interior of a Café [1892]

Santiago Rusiñol - Interior of a Café [1892], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The artist and writer Rusiñol (1861 - 1931) was one of the founders of the turn-of-the-century Spanish Modernista movement. He and his colleagues, including the young Pablo Picasso, regularly met for lively discussions in a small Barcelona café. The figures populating the café in this painting, however, appear silent, solitary, and preoccupied with their own thoughts. The dull colours and enclosed space reinforce a sense of isolation.

[Philadelphia Museum of Art - Oil on canvas, 100.3 x 81.3 cm]