Lluís Domingo Abelló (1917) - La costa

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent work of art by Domingo Abelló, featuring a colorful still life with a bouquet of flowers and a blue fountain full of fruits, evoking the beauty of nature, abundance, and the harmony of daily life. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high artistic quality it transmits.

· Dimensions with frame: 71x82x4 cm.
· Dimensions without frame: 45x54 cm.
· Oil on board signed by the artist in the upper left corner, Domingo Abelló.
· The piece is in good conservation condition.
· The work is sold with a precious frame (included in the auction as a gift).

The work comes from an exclusive private collection in Girona.

Important note: the photographs included form an integral part of the lot description. Digital representation in an indicative mockup; there may be differences compared to the real article in color, scale, and details.

The painting will be professionally packed by a IVEX expert (https://www.instagram.com/ivex.online/), using high-quality materials to ensure its protection. The shipping price covers both the cost of professional packaging and the transport itself.
Shipping will be carried out by Correos, GLS or NACEX with tracking. International shipping available.

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This painting features a luminous coastal landscape where land, sea, and sky meet under an intensely changeable atmosphere. From a hillside covered with vegetation, the view opens to a wide expanse of blue water, traversed by light and dark bands that suggest the continuous motion of the waves. In the distance, several rocky islets emerge on the horizon, while the pines in the foreground accompany the coast and frame the scene with their green canopies. The composition immediately conveys the vigorous beauty of the Mediterranean coastline, a territory where nature seems to present itself as at once serene, wild, and deeply alive.

The foreground is occupied by an irregular hillside covered with shrubs, herbs, and small trees. The vegetation distributes itself spontaneously, not forming a neatly arranged garden, which reinforces the natural character of the landscape. Dark greens, intense yellows, ochres, earth tones, and small reddish nuances mix across the terrain, creating a rich and changing surface. This chromatic variety allows us to imagine vegetation exposed to sun, sea wind, and the characteristic dryness of coastal areas.

At the bottom, grasses and scrub form a dynamic band that draws the viewer into the scene. Some areas show yellowish and golden tones, as if the plants had been dried by heat, while others retain deep and fresh greens. Among them appear small orange, brown, and reddish notes that add warmth to the whole. The diversity of shapes and colors conveys the sense of abundant nature growing freely on rocky ground.

The foreground pines are one of the most characteristic elements of the landscape. Their narrow, slightly leaning trunks rise from the hillside to support rounded, dense, and irregular canopies. Some appear in the central area, spaced apart, while others cluster toward the edges. Their presence immediately evokes the Mediterranean coasts, where these trees adapt to the wind and lean toward the sea from cliffs and elevated terrain.

The canopies of the pines combine numerous shades of green. In the more illuminated areas they appear yellow-green and bright, while the inner parts darken toward deep blue and black. This alternation gives volume to the trees and suggests changing lighting filtered by the clouds. The rounded shapes of the canopies contrast with the horizontal lines of the sea and provide an organic rhythm to the composition.

On the left rises a higher, denser mass of vegetation, acting as a large natural frame. Several canopies overlap and form an irregular silhouette that advances over the sky and sea. Emerald greens, olives, and yellowish tones appear alongside very dark areas, creating notable depth. This group of trees concentrates a significant portion of the visual weight of the scene and guides the gaze toward the maritime opening to its right.

The hillside gradually descends toward the water, revealing rocky areas in cream, beige, ochre, and gray tones. These light surfaces appear partially covered by vegetation, as if the stone emerges among the shrubs. The union between rocks and plants conveys a sense of rugged terrain, shaped over years by wind, rain, and the proximity of the sea. It is not a smooth coast, but a landscape full of unevenness and nooks.

The contrast between vegetation and rock especially enriches the foreground. The dark, rounded shapes of the pines stand out against the light ground surfaces, while yellow and orange blotches soften the transition between the two elements. This warm–cool color alternation creates a sense of depth and allows distinguishing different planes within the hillside. Each tree seems to occupy a specific position in space, from the nearest to those descending toward the coast.

The sea opens from the central zone and occupies a sizable portion of the composition. Its surface is built from a succession of horizontal bands in marine blues, turquoise, whites, and grays. The darker bands suggest deeper areas or moments when they are shaded by clouds, while the light traces evoke foam and light reflections. The water is not completely calm, but animated by a steady swell that brings energy to the whole scene.

The numerous white lines across the sea can be read as crests of small waves pushed by the wind. Some extend over a wide distance, others appear fragmented, creating an irregular rhythm. This repetition generates an attractive sense of movement and makes the surface seem to advance toward the shore. The sea thus acquires a sonic presence, as if one could imagine the murmur of waves breaking on the rocks.

The blues of the water show extraordinary variety. Near the horizon, deep and dark tones predominate, while in the closer areas turquoise, light blues, and whitish reflections appear. This chromatic transition adds breadth to the landscape and reinforces the distance between the shore and the islets. The light areas seem to receive direct sky light, while others remain in cool, dense shadows.

The horizon line divides the composition clearly, yet not rigidly. Its path is interrupted by small rocky formations that emerge in the distance and by color variations of the water. The horizon extends to both ends of the frame, conveying a sense of immensity and openness. In front of the dense vegetation of the foreground, this distant band offers rest and allows the eye to wander into the maritime vastness.

In the center appear several low, irregular islets. Their brown, ochre, and gray tones contrast with the blue of the sea and make them reference points within the wide watery space. Some seem joined, while others separate slightly and leave narrow strips of water between them. Distance softens their outlines and gives them a solitary, almost mysterious appearance.

These islets introduce depth and a possible narrative dimension. They seem like deserted territories, exposed to the wind and surrounded by the ceaseless motion of the water. Their presence invites imagining small hidden coves, seabirds, or boats navigating around their shores. Although they occupy a small area, they are essential to balance the composition and prevent the expanse of the sea from feeling completely empty.

The sky dominates the upper half of the work and presents a rich combination of blues, whites, grays, and soft violet hues. It does not appear as a uniform surface, but as a space traversed by large masses of clouds that seem to move quickly. Some areas are clear and bright, while others darken and suggest an impending atmospheric change. This variety gives the landscape a strong sense of immediacy.

The clouds distribute in broad irregular shapes that overlap and open in different directions. Creamy whites coexist with bluish-greys, light blues, purples, and small yellowish reflections. In some points, the sky seems to clear and allow a bright light to pass through; in others, the clouds accumulate and gain density. This alternation turns the sky into an active presence that influences all elements of the landscape.

The light seems to filter in a changing way between the clouds. Some canopies of trees and zones of the ground receive yellowish bright reflections, while others stay shrouded in greenish and bluish shadows. The same effect is perceived in the sea, where light and dark bands seem to respond to the movement of the cloud masses. Thus, sky, water, and earth are united by a common illumination.

The composition is organized by a balance between horizontal and vertical forms. The horizon, the waves, and the color bands of the sea provide stability and breadth, while the trunks of the pines introduce ascending lines that connect earth and sky. The diagonals of the hillside guide the gaze from the nearer areas to the water. This combination avoids rigidity and makes the landscape dynamic without losing serenity.

Also notable is the contrast between proximity and distance. In the foreground, the vegetation is abundant, intense, and full of variation; in the distance, the sea, islets, and horizon simplify progressively. This transition creates a convincing sense of space and places the viewer on a natural overlook along the pine-fringed coast.

The absence of human figures intensifies the contemplative character of the work. There are no houses, boats, or constructions interrupting the dominance of nature. The landscape presents itself as a free, silent, and secluded space, where only the wind, the movement of the water, and the whisper of the trees seem to exist. This solitude is not sad, but deeply tranquil and restorative.

The painting conveys the sensation of a specific moment, marked by an unstable sky and changing light. One can imagine a windy morning after rain or an afternoon when clouds move rapidly over the coast. The rough sea and leaning canopies suggest the presence of a strong breeze. Even so, the scene retains a natural harmony, as if every atmospheric change were part of the place’s balance.

The color palette establishes a powerful relationship between cool and warm colors. Blues, turquoises, and grays dominate the sky and the water, creating freshness and depth. Facing them, the bright yellows, ochres, oranges, and greens of the terrain add warmth and proximity. This opposition makes the coast stand out strongly and allows the sea to retain its immensity without losing visual richness.

Darker tones appear in strategic points, especially under the canopies of trees, in certain bands of the water, and around the rocks. These deeper areas structure the composition and highlight the light colors. The whites of the sky and the waves gain greater luminosity thanks to their proximity to marine blues and dark greens. The result is an image full of contrasts, but unified by a coherent atmosphere.

The piece has a strongly Mediterranean character, recognizable in the coastal pines, the light-colored rock, the low vegetation, and the intense blue of the sea. Without needing to identify a specific place, the landscape evokes coves and cliffs bathed by changing light. Its beauty does not depend on monumental architecture or human presence, but on the direct relationship between the natural elements.

The image invites slow contemplation of each of its zones. One can first pause at the nearby trees, then follow the descent of the hillside, move across the wavy bands of the sea, and finally rest on the islets on the horizon. From there, one climbs toward the sky and travels the clouds again before returning to the foreground. This circular journey makes the composition enveloping and continuously renewing.

Beyond its descriptive nature, the landscape can be interpreted as a celebration of freedom and the enduring presence of nature. The sea represents openness, change, and an ungraspable vastness; the pines express resilience and rootedness; the rocks symbolize stability; and the clouds remind us of the constant passage of time. All these elements coexist in a scene that conveys strength, serenity, and a deep connection to the land.

In sum, the work presents a broad view of the Mediterranean coast seen from a hillside covered with pines, shrubs, and wild vegetation. The foreground, rich in greens, yellows, ochres, and earthy tones, leads toward a blue sea traversed by numerous lines of foam, while several rocky islets rise in the distance beneath a sky filled with light and grayish clouds. The expanse of the horizon, the movement of the water, the protective presence of the trees, and the changing luminosity of the sky create an atmosphere of freedom and contemplation. More than merely showing a coastal corner, the painting celebrates the force of the landscape, the beauty of the Mediterranean, and the eternal harmony between land, sea, and sky.