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Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem
Artist	Ramon Casas i Carbó
Year	1897 (1897)
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	191 cm × 215 cm (75 in × 85 in)
Location	Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem is a painting by Ramon Casas in exhibition at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Description

Casas painted Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem in 1897 specifically for the interior of Els Quatre Gats, a bar that was at the center of the Modernisme art movement in Barcelona. It depicts Casas and Pere Romeu, one of the promoters of Els Quatre Gats, on a tandem bicycle against the Barcelona skyline. Casas is seen in profile with his pipe, while Romeu looks directly at the viewer. Although painted on canvas, the composition has the graphic quality of a huge poster with its bold drawing and simplified forms, reflecting the fact that the artist was a skilled poster designer and illustrator.

The original inscription in Catalan on the right side of the painting, which was later cut off, read "to ride a bicycle, you can't go with your back straight." The message described the attitude of the bar founders (two of whom are depicted here), that in order to make progress, you must break with tradition, as was done at Els Quatre Gats. In 1901, this painting was replaced with another large composition by Casas, entitled Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu in an Automobile, in which the tandem bicycle has given way to a car, symbolizing the new century. When reproductions of the two paintings appeared in the magazine Pel & Ploma, they were referred to as The End of the 19th Century and The Beginning of the 20th Century, respectively.

Exhibition history

Notes

1. ^ McCully (1978), p. 64.
2. Robinson et al, p. 81.
3. Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem and In an Automobile on the National Art Museum of Catalonia's YouTube channel
4. Robinson et al., p. 82.
5. ^ McCully (1978)
6. ^ McCully (1986)
7. ^ Doñate and Mendoza (2001)
8. ^ Robinson et al. (2007)

References

• Doñate, Mercè; Mendoza, Cristina: Ramon Casas. El pintor del modernisme. MNAC. 2001. ISBN 84-8043-077-X (in Catalan)
• McCully, M. (1978) Els Quatre Gats: Art in Barcelona around 1900. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
• Robinson, W., Falgas, J., & Lord, C.B. (2007) Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, Dalí. Cleveland Museum of Art in Association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London.

Further reading

• Garcia, J.M. (1996) From Gaudi to Tàpies: Catalan Masters of the 20th Century. Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura.
• Lord, C.B. (1995) Point and Counterpoint: Ramon Casas in Paris and Barcelona 1866-1909. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

External links

• Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem on the National Art Museum of Catalonia website
• Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem and In an Automobile on the National Art Museum of Catalonia's YouTube channel
• Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem on Google Art Project

v t e Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Romanesque works	Altar frontal from La Seu d'Urgell or of The Apostles Southern apse from Pedret Apse of Santa Maria Àneu Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll Erill la Vall Descent from the Cross Batlló Majesty Altar frontal from Avià Paintings from Arlanza The Christ from 1147 Virgin from Ger
Gothic works	Mural paintings of the conquest of Majorca Head of Christ Virgin of the Angels Altarpiece of Saint Barbara Nativity and Saint John the Evangelist Altarpiece of the Saints John Virgin of the Consellers Saint Augustine Altarpiece Resurrection of Christ
Renaissance and Baroque works	Saint Candidus Jean-Claude Richard, abbé of Saint-Non Mural Paintings from the Herrera Chapel Saint Peter and Saint Paul Madonna of Humility Immaculate Conception Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew Saint Paul Saint Agnes
Modern works	The Odalisque The Spanish Wedding Desolation Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem Confidant from the Batlló House Terraced Village Paloma Cala Forn Portrait of My Father Woman in Hat and Fur Collar Raised left hand Still life II The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar A Romance
See also	List of artists from the MNAC collection Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

• Paintings in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
• Paintings by Ramón Casas
• 1897 paintings
• Bicycles in art
• Modernisme