Sombra — original editorial drawing for Ramón Sopena, 1967 — ink and watercolor on paper

Original illustration produced for Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A., dated 1967 and preserved with the publisher's stamp on the reverse. The scene depicts a boy studying under the light of a lamp, while objects arranged on the table cast broad areas of shadow.

The handwritten word "SOMBRA" (Shadow) in the upper margin identifies the concept the image was intended to illustrate, evidencing its function within the editorial process. It is, therefore, a piece originally conceived for reproduction in an educational or informative publication by the Barcelona-based publisher.

The Work

The composition is organized around a simple exercise in light and shadow. A youth sitting at a table holds a book while consulting another open volume. Above him, a green-shaded lamp concentrates the illumination and generates a marked shadow cast by the red book, which becomes one of the central elements of the image.

The illustrator uses a firm, clean outline, completed with transparent color washes. Greens, blues, reds, and violets clearly distinguish the different elements, while a yellowish tone reproduces the luminous halo of the lamp.

The economy of resources responds well to the pedagogical purpose of the illustration: the scene had to be immediately understandable and visually explain the phenomenon of shadow without resorting to unnecessary secondary elements.

An Illustration Conceived for Teaching

Throughout much of the 20th century, Ramón Sopena developed an extensive production of dictionaries, encyclopedias, school manuals, and informative works. For these publications, originals were prepared specifically to accompany definitions and concepts with clear and easily recognizable images.

This piece retains several elements typical of that work process. On the obverse, there is the handwritten indication "SOMBRA", along with a numerical reference, while the reverse preserves the stamp of Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A., Barcelona, dated 1967.

Beyond its initial purpose, the drawing now constitutes a small material testimony to the work of the illustrators and graphic departments that participated in Barcelona's editorial production during the mid-20th century.

Technical Sheet

Author: Unidentified illustrator
Title: Sombra (Shadow)
Publisher: Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A., Barcelona
Date: 1967
Technique: Ink and watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 13 × 18 cm
Type of work: Original drawing for editorial illustration
Inscriptions: "SOMBRA" handwritten in the upper margin; editorial annotation in the left margin
Reverse: Stamp of Editorial Ramón Sopena, S.A., Barcelona, dated 1967
Provenance: Ramón Sopena editorial archive

Workshop Note

Before becoming a printed image, an illustration like this was a unique object of work: the drawing that passed through the hands of the illustrator and the editorial team before reaching the pages of a book.

In Sombra, that function remains especially visible. The word written in pencil, the internal reference, and the stamp on the reverse allow one to contemplate not only the finished image but also a part of the process by which Ramón Sopena's illustrated publications were constructed.

Its appeal lies precisely in that double condition: it is a small hand-drawn graphic work and, at the same time, a preserved fragment of the history of publishing and education in Barcelona.