Pere Borrell del Caso

Pere Borrell del Caso (13 December 1835, in Puigcerdà – 16 May 1910, in Barcelona) was a Spanish painter, illustrator and engraver, known for his trompe-l'œil paintings; especially Escaping Criticism (1874).[1]

Escaping criticism. From 2002 to 2011, this 1874 painting went on an international tour, visiting exhibitions devoted to trompe-l'œil in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States

His father was a cabinetmaker who taught that craft to Borrell. It was by this means that he was able to support his studies at the School of Fine Arts.

He also painted portraits, which made up the bulk of his work, and created religious murals in the Nazarene style in Barcelona, Girona and Castellar del Vallès. These, however, were all destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

He exhibited throughout Spain and at the 1878 Exposition Universelle. He was twice offered a professorship at the Escola de la Llotja, but preferred to teach at his own private art school. Those who studied there or were influenced by his work include Romà Ribera, Ricard Canals, Adrià Gual and Josep Maria Sert.[2] His children, Julio and Ramón, both became painters of some note.

Puigcerdà's local high school has been named the "Institut Pere Borrell" in his honour. A street there bears his name as well.

References

1. Deceptions and Illusions: Five Centuries of Trompe l'Oeil Painting - National Gallery of Art @ Absolutearts
2. William H. Robinson; Jordi Falgas; Carmen Bellon Lord; Robert Hughes, Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali (Yale University Press, 2006), 503

Further reading

• Pascual, Andrea (1999). Pere Borrell del Caso (Puigcerdà 1835-Barcelona 1910) : l'obra artística d'un mestre de pintors. Ajuntament de Puigcerdà (Girona): Editorial Mediterrània. ISBN 9788483340936.