Josefina Coderch (1934) - Perfil entre flores

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent artwork belonging to Josefina Coderch, depicting an elegant profile of a woman adorned with flowers and a delicate lace collar, painted on a singular oval support that resembles a painter’s palette. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it conveys.

• Frame dimensions: 51x57x3 cm.
• Artwork dimensions: 24x30 cm.
• Oil on board hand-signed by the artist in the lower left corner, J. Coderch.
• 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 are an integral part of the lot description.

The painting will be professionally packed by an 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 packing 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 presents the elegant portrait of a woman seen in profile, depicted on a singular oval support whose shape clearly recalls a painter’s palette. The protagonist calmly directs her gaze to the left, unaware of the viewer, while her pale face emerges from a dark background, a delicate lace collar and abundant floral decoration. The distinctive silhouette of the work reinforces its intimate and ornamental character, making the figure seem contained within a medallion or an object directly linked to the artist’s universe.

The oval format plays an essential role in the composition. Its curved ends softly wrap around the portrait and focus all attention on the woman, avoiding the rigidity typical of rectangular boundaries. This shape can be associated with old salon portraits as well as a painter’s palette turned into an artistic support. Thus the work gains a double dimension: it can be contemplated as a very elegant female image and also as a singular artistic object, symbolically connected to the act of creation.

The protagonist occupies almost the entire central surface. Her head is slightly elevated and turned to the left, showing a clean, refined profile. The forehead, nose, lips and chin form a continuous line of great delicacy. This arrangement gives the face a calm, contemplative presence, as if the woman were looking at something outside the composition or lost in her own thoughts.

The face is illuminated with soft ivory, cream, greenish and pinkish tones. The clarity of the skin contrasts with the darkness of the hair and background, making features stand out clearly. Shadow areas cluster around the eye, nose and jaw, providing volume without disturbing the overall serenity of the expression. The light seems to caress the profile, lending it a delicate, almost ethereal appearance.

The visible eye is rendered discreetly and slightly low, reinforcing the sense of introspection. It is not a challenging or viewer-directed gaze, but a collected and distant expression. This attitude invites imagining a calm, elegant, self-assured woman, surprised in a moment of silence. Her identity remains open to interpretation and favors a poetic reading of the portrait.

The lips, defined with a small red accent, introduce a warm note amid the light tones of the face. Their closed shape conveys serenity and restraint. The delicacy of this detail avoids any excess gesture and preserves the intimate character of the image. Together with the line of the nose and the curve of the chin, the lips help build a harmonious and distinguished feminine profile.

The hair is another striking area of the work. It is gathered at the back into a broad, dark volume, composed of browns, blacks, violets and reddish highlights. Its mass contrasts intensely with the clarity of the face and allows the profile to be perfectly defined. The coiffure suggests meticulous presentation and reinforces the protagonist’s timeless elegance.

At the top of the hair appears a floral ornament made of reds, pinks, blacks, whites and violets. The flowers seem to interlace with the updo, creating a small ornamental crown. Some petals are clearly recognizable, while others blend with the shadows of the hair and background. This decoration adds romance and visually links the head of the woman with the flowers distributed below.

Floral abundance concentrates especially on the left side, beside the shoulder and chest of the protagonist. There appears a lush arrangement of small violet, blue, white, pink, yellow and reddish flowers, mixed with green leaves and dark stems. This bouquet introduces intense chromatic richness and makes the lower-left area one of the main visual focal points of the composition.

The flowers do not appear as a completely independent bouquet, but as an extension of the garment or ornament surrounding the woman. They could be part of a decorated dress, a shawl, or a floral arrangement placed before her body. This ambiguity adds interest to the portrait, as it allows vegetation to merge with fabrics and create a dreamlike image.

On the right side also stand several flowers in pink, violet, white and green. Their presence balances the left-side floral accumulation and extends the ornamentation across the lower area. Although smaller and more dispersed, these flowers help frame the bust of the protagonist and maintain the overall color harmony.

The clothing stands out for the elegance of its light tones and the richness of its details. The upper part appears dominated by whites, creams, soft grays and greenish reflections, colors that relate directly to the skin and the illuminated areas of the background. On the chest sits a broad delicate-looking triangular element that guides the gaze toward the neck.

The lace collar is one of the most refined details of the work. Its structure is formed by small cut-out shapes, scalloped edges and repeated motifs that create a light, ornamental surface. It rises around the neck and then descends toward the center of the chest, adding volume and distinction. Its gray-white color contrasts with the deeper tones of the lower clothing.

The lace arrangement reinforces the verticality of the neck and accentuates the elegance of the posture. The protagonist keeps her head upright and shoulders slightly tilted, adopting a noble yet natural stance. The ornamental collar functions as a transition between the face’s luminosity and the darker areas of the clothing, clearly organizing the central part of the composition.

In the lower zone appear broad expanses of gray, black, dark green and white. These shapes suggest voluminous sleeves, possibly accompanied by overlapped fabrics or decorative elements. The curved contours of the sleeves follow the oval shape of the support and help visually close the portrait, preventing the body from appearing abruptly interrupted.

The sleeve on the right forms a large dark curve approaching the oval’s lower edge. On it, delicate white and bluish reflections suggest folds and changes in light. On the left, another dark area serves as a base for the flowers and provides a contrast to the neck and face’s clarity.

The background is built with a dark atmosphere of browns, grays, blacks, dull greens and violets. It does not define a room or a recognizable place, allowing all attention to fall on the figure. The absence of architectural or landscape elements gives the portrait an timeless character, as if the woman appeared suspended in a space devoted exclusively to her presence.

In some sections of the background, lighter areas surround the face and shoulders. These greenish, creamy and yellowish zones act as a soft glow and separate the silhouette from the darkness. The lighting does not seem to come from a specific point, but is distributed envelopingly to highlight the features, the lace and the flowers.

The contrast between light and dark is one of the main visual resources of the composition. The illuminated face and neck emerge boldly, while the hair, sleeves and certain background areas remain in shadow. This opposition provides depth and grants the woman a mysterious, delicate and slightly theatrical presence.

The color palette brings together sober tones with small bursts of color. The browns, grays, blacks and muted greens provide an elegant base, while the reds, purples, pinks, blues and yellows of the flowers enliven the ensemble. These color accents are not harsh but are distributed in a balanced way around the figure.

The composition maintains an attractive asymmetry. The face is oriented to the left, where the largest floral cluster also concentrates, while the right side is dominated by the hair, the dark background and a voluminous sleeve. The broad space in front of the profile allows the woman’s gaze to breathe and emphasizes the sense of contemplativeness.

Despite the ornamental richness, the face remains the true emotional center of the portrait. The flowers, hairstyle, lace and fabrics act as a frame that enhances the serenity of the features. Nothing distracts completely from the expression of the protagonist, whose quiet presence organizes and gives meaning to all surrounding elements.

The combination between the oval format and the female profile recalls old medallions and intimate portraits designed to preserve the memory of a person. Yet the painter’s palette aspect introduces a more personal and creative character. It seems as if the material traditionally used to prepare colors has been transformed into an autonomous work, preserving in its form an allusion to the artistic creation process.

This singular format makes the piece more than a conventional portrait. The curve of the support adapts to the head, shoulders and sleeves, creating a very tight unity between image and object. The woman appears to inhabit the entire interior of the oval, while the flowers and fabrics accompany her contour up to approach the edges.

The protagonist can be interpreted as a figure linked to beauty, elegance and contemplation. The flowers evoke sensitivity and transience; the lace recalls refinement; and the distant gaze introduces mystery. The fusion of these elements builds an idealized feminine image, poised between personal portrait and poetic evocation.

There is also an interesting dialogue between the delicacy of the subject and the intensity of the background. The face transmits calm, while the dark tones and the diffuse forms surrounding it add emotional depth. The flowers bring life and color, but some merge with the shadows, suggesting the union of beauty, memory and the passage of time.

Overall, this beautiful painting presents the elegant profile portrait of a woman on an original oval support that clearly recalls a painter’s palette. Her serene, luminous face, the elaborately adorned hair with flowers, the delicate lace collar and the abundant floral ornamentation build a deeply refined and mysterious image. The harmony between the dark tones of the background, the clarity of the skin and the red, violet, blue and yellow accents makes the work an intimate evocation of femininity, beauty and artistic creation.