After Gaietà Cornet — Lluís Millet conducting the Orfeó Català — ink copy on paper

Lluís Millet rises above the choir with his baton held high, while a multitude of singers crowds at his feet. The musical scores, exaggerated profiles, and expressions of the Orfeó members transform the concert into a scene full of movement and humor.

The composition reproduces a famous caricature by Gaietà Cornet i Palau (1878–1945) created around 1900 and dedicated to Lluís Millet conducting the Orfeó Català. This sheet, originating from a collection linked to publishers and illustrators, appears to correspond to a later copy or recreation executed in ink on paper, and not the historical original by Cornet.

The work

The scene is constructed through an extremely graphic drawing, based on the contrast between large black masses and meticulous hatching work.

Millet dominates the composition from the top. His disproportionately large head concentrates a good part of the detail: hair, mustache, eyebrows, and features are constructed through numerous short strokes, while the body is reduced almost to a schematic figure extended by the conductor’s arms.

The choir stretches out in front of him. Cornet turned that crowd into a succession of individualized characters: bald heads, beards, prominent profiles, sheet music, and open mouths create a deliberately motley group that visually conveys the intensity of the collective singing.

In the lower left corner appears the inscription “Cornet”. On this sheet, it must be understood as part of the reproduction of the original composition and not, based on available data, as an autograph signature of the artist.

Comparison with the preserved and documented historical drawing allows for precise identification of the model: Caricature of Lluís Millet conducting the Orfeó Català, a work by Gaietà Cornet made around 1900 and published in the Catalan illustrated press of the time.

Gaietà Cornet and the Orfeó Català

Gaietà Cornet i Palau was one of the fundamental figures of Catalan caricature and illustration at the turn of the century. His name is closely linked to publications such as L'Esquella de la Torratxa, ¡Cu-Cut!, and En Patufet, and he was part of a generation that turned satirical drawing into one of the most recognizable visual languages of modernist Barcelona.

The character depicted, Lluís Millet i Pagès (1867–1941), was a composer, conductor, and one of the great figures of Catalan musical life. Together with Amadeu Vives, he founded the Orfeó Català in 1891 and played a decisive role in the consolidation of the institution.

Here, Cornet transforms a cultural figure of enormous relevance into a scene full of irony and movement, without losing the ability to make both the conductor and the choral environment surrounding him recognizable.

Technical sheet

Author of the original model: Gaietà Cornet i Palau (Barcelona, 1878–1945)
Cataloging of the piece: After Gaietà Cornet
Title: Lluís Millet conducting the Orfeó Català
Original model: c. 1900
Chronology of this sheet: 20th century
Technique: Ink on paper
Dimensions: 21 × 16 cm
Inscription: “Cornet” in the lower left corner, reproduced from the original composition
Subject: Music, caricature, Lluís Millet, Orfeó Català
Provenance: Private collection linked to publishers and illustrators
Condition: Good general condition, with minor signs typical of the medium.

The Workshop Note

This piece was especially interesting to us because during our research it was possible to identify exactly the drawing on which it is based.

The image reproduces a caricature by Gaietà Cornet dedicated to Lluís Millet and the Orfeó Català around 1900. The sheet we hold does not appear to be that historical original, but it maintains the graphic force of the composition intact: the theatrical gesture of the conductor, the group of singers, and the extraordinary variety of small characters that fill the foreground.

Its provenance from a collection related to publishers, illustrators, and graphic originals also adds a coherent context for this type of copy or working material.