• Joan Vilatobà i Fígols: kitchen with crockery, an open window, a potted plant and a red curtain.
  • Vista de un óleo de una cocina de paredes azules con una ventana abierta, una cortina roja, cacharros colgados y una vajilla en un estante
  • Vista de la ventana abierta con contraventanas azules, una maceta, la cortina roja y un paisaje de montañas al fondo
  • Vista de la cocina con una pila de piedra, cuencos de cobre y una jarra de barro bajo la ventana con la cortina roja
  • Detalle de dos cacharros colgados de la pared azul y de un escurreplatos con platos apilados junto a la ventana
  • Detalle de la ventana abierta con una maceta de flores, la cortina roja y las montañas en la distancia
  • Vista completa del óleo: cocina con una ventana abierta, una cortina roja, una pila de piedra y cuencos, sobre un suelo rojizo
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Joan Vilatobà i Fígols — Kitchen Interior with Open Window — Oil on Panel

Joan Vilatobà i Fígols — Kitchen Interior with Open Window — Oil on Panel

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A bright domestic interior revealing the pictorial side of one of the great pioneers of photography in Spain. This work from the Sabadell School stands out for its solid treatment of light and color, documenting a traditional rustic setting with warmth and rigor.

The photographic eye in painting Joan Vilatobà i Fígols (1878-1954) is a central figure in Catalan art, revered internationally as a pioneer of photographic pictorialism and represented in institutions such as the MNAC and the Sabadell Museum. However, his work as a painter and professor at the Industrial School of his hometown is an equally fascinating aspect. In this oil painting, the artist transfers to the brush the same sensitivity to light that made him famous behind the camera.

Light, color, and composition The panel presents a traditional interior structured by the classic device of the "open window." This approach creates a deep spatial contrast between the cool gloom of the room and the vibrant light of the exterior. The boldest element is the red curtain on the right: a chromatic burst that breaks the palette of blues, greens, and ochres, adding an almost theatrical drama that guides the viewer's eye. Far from seeking photographic hyperrealism, Vilatobà uses loose, impasto brushwork, assimilating the influence of the Impressionism he encountered during his stays in Paris to prioritize atmosphere over minute detail.

Technical Sheet

  • Author: Joan Vilatobà i Fígols (Sabadell, 1878 - 1954).

  • Title / Subject: Kitchen Interior with Open Window.

  • Period: First half of the 20th century.

  • Technique and Support: Oil on panel.

  • Dimensions: 61 x 50 cm.

  • Signature and Inscriptions: Signed "Vilatobà" in the lower left corner.

  • Provenance: Secondary market.

  • Condition: Very good. The pictorial layer is stable and maintains the vividness of the original pigments.

The Studio Note

To stand before this work is to understand that Vilatobà’s gaze did not depend exclusively on the medium he used. What is truly magnetic about this interior is not merely the description of the space, but how the light and the red curtain structure the emotion of the scene.

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