Miquel Torner de Semir (1938) - La dama

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent artwork by Miquel Torner de Semir, which depicts an elegant profile of a woman, wrapped in intense colors and crowned by a large reddish headdress. Her distant gaze conveys serenity, mystery, and introspection. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it transmits.

· Dimensions with frame: 51x51x6 cm.
· Dimensions without frame: 24x24 cm.
· Mixed media hand-signed by the artist at the lower right.
· The piece is in good conservation condition.
· The work is sold with a beautiful 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.

The painting will be professionally packaged by 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 profile portrait of a female figure whose serene presence occupies the center of a composition dominated by color, line, and a delicate sense of introspection. The woman looks to the right, seemingly unaware of the viewer, while her silhouette is clearly cut out against a background of soft and changing tones. The simplicity of the gesture, the elegance of the neck, and the purity of the contour give the image an intimate, silent, and deeply evocative beauty.

The face constitutes the main expressive nucleus of the work. Shown in profile, it reveals a broad forehead, a fine and straight nose, delicately defined lips, and a softly rounded chin. The dark outline that delineates these features allows the figure to stand out from the background without needing an excessively detailed description. The economy of lines brings modernity and elegance, while the harmony of proportions conveys a sense of calm and inner balance.

Especially significant is the gaze of the protagonist. The eye, carefully highlighted, seems to focus on a distant point outside the composition. It is not a gaze directed at the audience, but a reserved expression that invites the viewer to imagine the woman’s thoughts, memories, or emotions. This orientation toward an invisible space symbolically expands the scene and turns the portrait into an open image, capable of suggesting waiting, contemplation, nostalgia, or reverie.

The hair is gathered at the back of the head in a complex and ornamental structure. The curved lines and small details around the ear evoke an elaborate hairstyle, possibly secured by a ribbon, a decorative comb, or a discreet ornament. This area introduces graphic richness that contrasts with the overall simplicity of the face. The combination of bluish volumes, black contours, and repeated shapes gives the hairstyle an almost sculptural presence.

From the top of the hair emerges a large reddish-orange shape that extends to the left, occupying a good part of the upper area of the composition. It can be interpreted as a headdress, a fabric, a very large flower, or a symbolic extension of the figure’s thought. Its irregular and expansive form adds energy and drama, balancing the stillness of the profile with a bold chromatic presence full of movement.

Within this large warm area appear deeper red spots that enrich its volume and create different centers of intensity. The reds, corals, and oranges convey vitality, passion, and emotional strength, while their open boundaries allow the shape to visually merge with the surrounding space. This chromatic expansion could be understood as an exterior manifestation of the protagonist’s inner life, as if her emotions were silently unfolding behind her.

In contrast to those warm colors, the upper and central area incorporates deep blues, purples, greys, and delicate greenish hues. These cool tones surround the head and provide a sense of depth, mystery, and introspection. The intense blue placed over the face seems to act as a shadow or as an extension of the hair, establishing a beautiful contrast with the reddish tones that dominate the left side.

The face is not covered by a single uniform color, but is traversed by visual transparencies and delicate variations of pink, mauve, blue, green, and beige. These hues blend together and grant the skin a changing, sensitive, and almost ethereal appearance. More than simply describing the physical appearance of the woman, the color seems to reveal different states of mind, turning her face into an emotionally rich terrain of nuances.

The cheek gathers much of this chromatic richness. Soft pinks blend with violets and blues, suggesting an inner illumination rather than clearly defined natural light. This play of colors adds depth without hardening the features and reinforces the delicacy of the portrait. The protagonist seems suspended between reality and memory, like a figure arising from a dream or distant recollection.

The lips, discretely tinged with red, introduce a small point of intensity within the face. Their closed, tranquil shape reinforces the figure’s silence, as if she keeps to herself what she thinks or feels. This detail, together with the direction of the gaze, builds a reserved and enigmatic personality. The expression is not evidently sad or joyful, but remains in a highly attractive emotional ambiguity.

The line of the neck gains fundamental importance in the composition. Its long, elegant curve descends from the jawline and extends toward the shoulders, creating a sense of refinement and lightness. The neck acts as a visual bridge between the face and the lower part of the image, while the dark contour organizes the figure with great clarity. This elongated, stylized extension lends a noble and timeless quality to the protagonist.

In the lower area appears a garment in reddish, pink, and orange tones that covers the shoulders and upper torso. Its color dialog with the large warm shape behind the head, establishing visual continuity between the clothing and the possible headdress. The broad, rounded contours of the garment reinforce the overall softness of the figure and provide stability to the composition.

The background is built from a sequence of subdued colors that surround the profile without defining a concrete space. Pale greens, bluish greys, veiled whites, pinks, and earthy tones are distributed irregularly, creating an indefinable and poetic atmosphere. The absence of architectural or landscape elements concentrates all attention on the woman and allows the figure to exist in a space more emotional than physical.

This indeterminacy of the surroundings gives the portrait a universal dimension. The protagonist does not clearly belong to a specific era, place, or situation, so it can be interpreted as a symbolic image of femininity, memory, or contemplation. Her stylized features and restrained attitude allow for multiple stories: she might be waiting for someone, recalling a moment past, or simply watching in silence what lies beyond our view.

The composition finds its balance in the opposition between stillness and movement. The profile line is clean, stable, and restrained, while the color patches in the background and the headdress expand with greater freedom. This coexistence generates a delicate visual tension: the face remains serene, but everything around it seems to vibrate and transform. Thus, the image simultaneously communicates outer calm and inner intensity.

There is also an interesting dialogue between what is defined and what is suggested. Some parts, such as the eye, the nose, the lips, the ear, and the contour of the hairstyle, appear clearly delineated, while others dissolve into color zones. This alternation allows the figure to be instantly recognizable while also leaving space for the imagination. The viewer can mentally complete what the composition only hints at.

The decorative force of the work arises from its harmonious chromatic distribution. Reds and oranges provide warmth and energy; blues and purples introduce serenity and depth; soft greens balance the whole; and earth tones create a welcoming base. Although the color variety is wide, all of them relate through delicate transitions that avoid any sense of rupture.

Thus the woman acquires a majestic presence without the need for grand gestures. Her beauty lies in serenity, in the elegance of the profile, and in the mystery of a gaze that looks beyond the scene. The large headdress and the richness of color elevate the portrait above a mundane representation, turning the protagonist into an almost allegorical figure associated with sensitivity, imagination, and inner strength.

Overall, this precious painting offers a female portrait full of elegance, sensitivity, and mystery, in which a profile-view woman quietly contemplates a space situated beyond the composition. The delicacy of her features, the refinement of the hairstyle, the intensity of the large reddish headdress, and the enveloping combination of blues, pinks, greens, and purples create a poetic and deeply expressive image. The work conveys a fascinating union between exterior serenity and emotional richness, transforming the protagonist into an timeless presence that seems to dwell between memory, dream, and contemplation."