Attributed to Fèlix de Pomés — Portrait of a woman, c. 1926 — pencil on paper

There are portraits that seem to seek a likeness and others that attempt to capture an instant. In this drawing, a young woman rests her face distractedly on her hand and directs her gaze outside the composition. She does not pose with solemnity. She seems to have paused for a few seconds, absorbed in a thought that the viewer cannot know.

Executed in pencil on paper, this delicate portrait measuring 23 × 19 cm is signed in the lower right corner with an inscription that can be read as "Félix de Pomés". The technique, the genre, the chronology, and the signature itself allow it to be related to the graphic production of Fèlix de Pomés i Soler, which is why it is prudently presented as a work attributed to the artist.

The work

The drawing is constructed with a remarkable economy of means. Pomés concentrates practically all the intensity on the face: the eyes are defined by a more precise line, while the cheeks, neck, and hand appear barely modeled by small strokes and soft shadows.

The hair receives a different treatment. A succession of parallel, denser and darker lines creates a mass that envelops the head and contrasts with the clarity of the face. This alternation between carefully finished areas and others merely suggested gives the drawing a spontaneous and intimate appearance, far removed from the official portrait.

The model's position is especially expressive. The hand resting next to her mouth introduces an everyday, almost involuntary gesture, while her averted gaze avoids any direct contact with the viewer. The result is a contained and psychological portrait, more interested in capturing an attitude than in building a ceremonial image.

Fèlix de Pomés: before the cinema

The career of Fèlix de Pomés i Soler (Barcelona, 1893–1969) is one of the most unique in Catalan culture during the first half of the 20th century.

Before achieving notoriety as a film actor and director, he actively cultivated drawing and painting, showing a special inclination for portraiture. During the 1920s, his artistic activity was widely documented, and he even held an exhibition in Barcelona dedicated specifically to pencil portraits.

This stage provides the most suggestive context for the present work. The small format, the pencil technique, and the intimate conception of the portrait coincide with that graphic production developed by Pomés during the years immediately preceding his entry into the cinematic world.

His biography was also extraordinarily diverse. He played soccer for clubs such as FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol and stood out especially as a fencer, representing Spain at the 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. At the end of that same decade, he began an extensive European film career as an actor, screenwriter, and later, director.

This multiplicity of interests makes his drawings testaments to a lesser-known facet of a figure closely linked to 20th-century Spanish culture, sports, and cinema.

A possible work from his portraitist period

The attribution is especially interesting because Pomés developed a public activity as a pencil portraitist precisely around 1926.

The work also presents characteristics compatible with that production: small format paper, direct execution, absence of color, special attention to facial features, and an evident search for psychological expression.

The inscription located in the lower right area seems to correspond to "Félix de Pomés". However, as there is no provenance documentation or specialized certification available to establish definitive authorship, El Taller del Coleccionista catalogs the piece as attributed to Fèlix de Pomés, thus maintaining a conservative criterion.

Conservation status

The work shows the natural aging corresponding to a piece on paper approximately one century old.

A slightly warm general tone and small, localized signs characteristic of the passage of time can be observed. The drawing is perfectly legible, properly maintaining the pencil strokes and the delicacy of the gradations.

The photographs are part of the description and allow for a detailed assessment of its conservation status.

Technical data sheet

Author: Attributed to Fèlix de Pomés i Soler
Title: Portrait of a woman
Chronology: c. 1926
Technique: Pencil on paper
Dimensions: 23 × 19 cm
Signature: Signed "Félix de Pomés" in the lower right corner
School: Catalan
Period: First third of the 20th century
Condition: Good general condition considering its age

Regarding the attribution

The cataloging as "attributed to" indicates that there are reasonable elements that allow the work to be related to Fèlix de Pomés—mainly the signature, the technique, the genre, and its chronological correspondence with the artist's known activity as a portraitist—but that the authorship is not documented as certified.

This formulation allows the historical and artistic interest of the piece to be preserved without turning a reasoned attribution into a definitive statement.