La Carrega

The Charge is one of Ramón Casas's most ambitious large-scale compositions. Instead of following traditional history painting, Casas presents a contemporary scene: a mounted Civil Guard charges at a crowd of workers who flee in panic. The confrontation is not placed at the centre but at the far right, from where the space opens like a fan towards the left, conveying the collective movement of fear. The large empty area in the middle, far from being an oversight, heightens the drama and breaks with the conventions of this kind of painting. The handling is loose, with contrasting patches and softened light, which the artist applies with ease on an unusual scale. A preliminary drawing published in a magazine in 1899 shows a different horse pose and rider's gaze, corrected before the final version. The work is linked to the Barcelona strike of 1902, although critics consider it was painted around 1899. Its significance lies in showing Catalan Modernisme engaging social themes through a renewed visual language.

Painter

Ramon Casas

Date

1903

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

298 × 470 cm

Museum

Museu de la Garrotxa

Movement

Catalan modernism, Art Nouveau

Depicts

sword, horse, man

Share:FacebookWhatsApp