Miquel Torner de Semir (1938) - El libro rojo

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent artwork by Miquel Torner de Semir, depicting an elegant woman who holds a red book and raises her gaze, surrounded by flowers and colors that symbolize imagination and the richness of her inner world. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it conveys.

• Framed dimensions: 76x68x5 cm.
• Unframed dimensions: 55x46 cm.
• Oil on panel; hand-signed by the artist at the lower left.
• 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 guarantee 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 is available.

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This painting presents a female figure of elegant and enigmatic appearance, depicted at a moment of reading or reflection. The woman occupies almost the entire composition and is positioned against an undefined background, built from a rich combination of soft and intense colors. Her presence is delicate, yet she possesses a strong visual impact thanks to the direct gaze, the elaborate hairstyle, and the red book she holds between her hands.

The protagonist’s face is one of the main focal points of the work. Her large dark eyes watch the viewer with an open, deeply introspective expression. The gaze conveys curiosity, astonishment, and a certain melancholy, as if the woman had looked up from the book for a moment upon feeling observed. This visual connection creates an immediate relationship between the figure and the viewer.

The features are defined with delicacy and a slight asymmetry that enhances expressiveness. Arched eyebrows, an elongated nose, small lips, and rosy cheeks compose a sensitive, humane face. The light tones of the face contrast with the dark lines of the eyes and hair, making the expression stand out with particular intensity.

Her hair rises in a voluminous and sophisticated hairstyle, adorned with large floral shapes in reds, pinks, purples, and browns. These flowers seem to form a crown above the protagonist’s head, granting her an almost ceremonial presence. The hairstyle can be associated with femininity, beauty, and tradition, but also with an imaginative world where nature becomes part of the figure’s identity.

Her clothing is enriched by a wide variety of colors, notably pinks, purples, blues, grays, and small reddish accents. The floral and abstract shapes that run along the sleeves reinforce the bond between the woman and the embellishments in her hair. The dress lends elegance and makes the protagonist an timeless figure, difficult to place in a specific era.

Between her hands she holds a bright red book, positioned at the bottom of the composition. Its rectangular shape and warm hue create a powerful contrast with the softer colors of the face and background. The book can be interpreted as a symbol of knowledge, imagination, memory, or access to an inner world that belongs only to the protagonist.

The hands are arranged carefully around the book, suggesting that the reading has been interrupted only for a moment. This pause introduces a silent narration: the woman could have found a phrase capable of surprising her, recalling something important, or awakening an unexpected emotion. The viewer cannot know the book’s content, but that mystery allows for multiple imagined stories.

The background lacks a clearly recognizable space and is formed by zones of gray, blue, violet, green, pink, red, and orange. The shapes overlap around the figure like thoughts, memories, or fragments of a dream. Some dark strokes recall branches or lines of a distant landscape, while luminous blotches seem to expand the imaginative universe born from reading.

Thus, the work establishes a relationship between external reality and the protagonist’s inner life. Her body remains still and contained, but the surrounding space appears full of movement, color, and emotion. It can be interpreted that all that abstract universe emerges from the pages of the book or from the woman’s thoughts, turning reading into a transformative experience.

Overall, the work represents an intimate moment in which a woman interrupts her reading and directs her gaze toward the viewer, inviting them to enter her inner world. The red book, the floral hairstyle, the expressiveness of the face, and the color-filled background build a poetic, mysterious, and deeply evocative scene. The painting conveys sensitivity, imagination, and a love for reading, while also celebrating femininity and the richness of inner life.