Modest Urgell

Who was Modest Urgell?

Modest Urgell was a Spanish Catalan painter, illustrator, and playwright of comedies. He was educated at the Llotja School, in Barcelona, with Ramon Martí i Alsina and knew Gustave Courbet after a visit to Paris. Though he painted portraits, his prolific body of work is dominated by Neo-romantic landscapes, such as Fields of Loneliness. He also acted and wrote such works for the theatre as Far from the Eyes, Close to the Heart.

In 1910 he taught at the School of Industrial and Fine Arts in Barcelona. Whilst he was there he worked with Josep Pascó and he taught the young Joan Miró.