Paco Castón (1954) - Campos dorados

Pictura Subastas presents this magnificent artwork belonging to Andreu Masó, which depicts a tranquil village with reddish roofs and bright houses, presided over by a tower and surrounded by golden fields, reached by a country road under the protection of majestic bluish mountains. The painting stands out for its excellent technique and the high pictorial quality it conveys.

· Dimensions with frame: 53x61x3 cm.
· Dimensions without frame: 38x46 cm.
· Oil on canvas hand-signed by the artist at the bottom left.
· The piece is in good 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 included photographs are an integral part of the lot description. Digital representation in a mockup is indicative; there may be differences with the actual article in color, scale, and details.

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 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 presents a wide and evocative panorama of a small village at the foot of an imposing mountain range. The viewer’s gaze enters the scene through a country road that starts in the foreground and gently advances through golden and green fields until it reaches the first houses. Above the rooftops, the church tower rises, becoming the main reference point of the town, while bluish mountains in the background envelop the scene and provide a powerful sense of depth, protection, and serenity.

The road occupies a fundamental position within the composition. It begins in the lower right area with considerable width and gradually narrows as it advances toward the village. Its slightly curved trajectory avoids a rigid perspective and conveys the impression of a path adapted to the natural irregularities of the terrain. This direction immediately guides the viewer’s gaze from the open field space to the houses in the distance.

The surface of the road is formed by a rich succession of grays, ochres, whites, violets, and earthy tones. The lighter areas seem to receive direct light, while dark bands along one side suggest small shadows, uneven ground, or marks from continual passage. These chromatic variations give the path a natural presence and integrate it harmoniously into the surrounding landscape.

The road’s layout evokes a sense of invitation and discovery. The viewer seems to stand on the outskirts of the urban core, about to cover the last meters that separate the open countryside from the houses. The curve partially hides the exact entrance point to the town, adding a delicate element of mystery and allowing the continuation of the route to be imagined among the houses, streets, and small squares.

On both sides of the road spread large green areas. The fields are dominated by yellows, ochres, greens, and browns, colors that suggest a warm time of year or near harvest. The plants are not arranged uniformly but grouped in irregular stripes and patches, conveying rural land diversity. This variety adds movement to the foreground and prevents the landscape from appearing static.

In the left zone, golden and earthy tones predominate. The vertical, elongated forms of vegetation recall spikes, tall grasses, or mature crops rising under the light. Among these warm areas appear small green, bluish, and grayish notes suggesting shadows, wild plants, or changes in density. The combination generates a sense of abundance and fertility.

The right side of the terrain shows greener, fresher vegetation. There mix emerald, yellowish, bluish, and ochre tones, building a richly textured surface. This chromatic difference between the two sides of the road helps delimit its course and provides balance to the composition. The path is thus framed by two distinct but complementary natural areas.

In the foreground, the plant forms appear broader and more expressive, while they become smaller and more compact as they approach the village. This progressive decrease reinforces perspective and allows a clear perception of the distance that separates the viewer from the town center. The fields act as a long natural antechamber preparing the visual arrival to the architecture.

The village occupies the central band and consists of a plentiful cluster of Houses of different heights and colors. The houses overlap each other, creating a complex succession of facades, rooftops, chimneys, and small walls. This accumulation conveys the impression of an old core that has grown organically over time, adapting to the gentle irregularities of the terrain.

The facades present a warm and luminous range formed by whites, creams, pale yellows, pinks, grays, ochres, and violet tones. Some houses receive clear light that emphasizes their volumes, while others are partially wrapped in cooler shadows. This alternation allows differentiating the buildings while maintaining a strong visual unity within the urban ensemble.

The rooftops are one of the most characteristic elements of the town. Their reddish, pinkish, brown, and orange tones spread across the central band and create an attractive contrast with the yellow fields and the blue mountains. The sloped coverings overlap at different levels, creating a rhythm of diagonals that enlivens the general horizontality of the town.

In the right area, several larger houses stand out, with light facades and wide reddish roofs. These structures are near the road’s entrance and add visual weight to that end. Their white and yellowish walls reflect the light, while the dark door and window spaces suggest the intimacy of interiors protected from the exterior heat.

The absence of visible human figures increases the sense of stillness, although the town does not appear abandoned. Well-kept houses, paths, cultivated fields, and the orderly arrangement of buildings reveal an indirect daily presence. It is possible to imagine its inhabitants inside the homes, working in nearby fields or strolling the streets hidden among the rooftops.

The church tower rises in the central-left area and constitutes the great vertical axis of the scene. Its structure dominates the urban profile without overpowering the houses. The upper part, topped by a bright point, is clearly cut against the sky. The dark openings of the belfry add depth and reinforce the monumentality of the construction.

The tower’s position allows identifying it as the town’s symbolic heart. The houses seem clustered around it, while its height makes it visible from the surrounding fields and paths. In addition to organizing the visual composition, the tower conveys a sense of permanence, history, and continuity, as if it had accompanied the community’s life for generations.

The warm tone of the tower’s stone dialogues with the field yellows and the reddish rooftops. The light concentrates especially on its uppermost peak, making it appear as one of the brightest points of the landscape. This clarity draws the eye and creates a contrast with the dark mountains rising behind the town.

Toward the far left appears another vertical structure of singular character. Its silhouette rises above nearby houses and balances the presence of the main tower. Although less prominent, it adds variety to the town’s profile and suggests the existence of other functional or historical buildings within the locality. Its clear shape softly stands out against the sky and distance.

The arrangement of these two vertical structures is essential for the work’s balance. The church tower dominates the center, while the left-hand structure prevents all visual weight from concentrating in a single point. Between them unfolds an irregular line of rooftops, chimneys, and façades that gives the town a lively and recognizable profile.

Behind the houses, several dark trees form a transitional band toward the mountains. Their deep, almost blue-green greens contrast with the facades’ luminosity and help separate the urban core from the background relief. Some trees have tall, narrow shapes, while others cluster into denser, rounded masses.

The vegetation behind the houses seems to protect the town and soften the encounter between architecture and mountain. The trees occupy the free spaces between buildings and rise above certain rooftops, demonstrating the close integration of the town with its natural surroundings. This relationship prevents the constructions from appearing isolated and gives the landscape a pleasant sense of continuity.

The mountains dominate the entire upper right portion and extend behind the town as a great natural barrier. Their profiles rise progressively to reach the highest peak near the upper-right edge. The relief is formed by intense blues, purples, grays, and subdued greens, colors that convey distance and provide a fresh contrast to the warmth of the foreground.

The overlapping slopes create different depth planes. The nearer elevations appear somewhat darker and more defined, while the distant peaks gradually blend with the sky. This succession allows perceiving the region’s breadth and places the town within a much larger landscape, reinforcing its intimate and gathered character.

In some mountain areas, lighter, pinkish, and grayish streaks can be distinguished, which might suggest vegetation changes, paths, rocky surfaces, or illuminated areas. These variations break the relief’s uniformity and add volume. The mountain not only serves as a background but as an essential presence that shapes the landscape’s atmosphere and identity.

The highest summit rises with a rounded, solid form. Its dark blue hue contrasts with the clear sky, transforming the mountain into a majestic, though not threatening, element. The town seems to rest peacefully at its feet, protected by the relief’s breadth. This scale relationship emphasizes the smallness of the buildings against nature’s vastness.

The sky occupies a wide band in the upper-left area and stretches over the mountains with bluish, grayish, and greenish tones. Its appearance is serene and lightly veiled, with no clearly defined clouds or strong contrasts. This soft atmosphere allows the tower to stand out clearly and provides a sense of enveloping calm.

The general lighting appears to correspond to a tranquil moment of the day. The golden fields and light facades receive warm light, while the mountains remain in cooler and deeper tones. This opposition between warm and cool organizes the scene’s different planes and enhances the perception of distance. The town acts as a meeting point between both chromatic worlds.

The composition is structured around three large spaces: the field and the road in the foreground, the town in the center, and the mountains with the sky in the background. Each strip has its own identity, but they are connected. The road leads toward the houses, the rooftops ascend toward the tower, and the tower finally directs the gaze toward the mountains and the sky.

One of the greatest attractions of the work lies in the harmony between nature and architecture. The houses do not appear separated from the landscape but integrated among fields, trees, and mountains. Their colors seem to come from the surrounding environment: the rooftops repeat the reddish tones of the earth, the façades reflect the yellows of the fields, and the shadows incorporate the blues of the distant relief.

The scene also possesses a strong emotional dimension. The path can be interpreted as a symbol of arrival, return, or discovery, while the town represents the idea of home and belonging. The tower functions as a visible orientation point from a distance, and the mountains evoke the stability of a landscape that remains through time.

The overall ambiance conveys silence and calm. There is no traffic, large buildings, or elements interrupting rural tranquility. Everything seems to unfold at a slow pace, determined by field cultivation, seasonal changes, and daily life of a small community. This quiet makes the landscape especially inviting and contemplative.

The abundance of ochre and yellow tones suggests late summer or early autumn. The fields seem to have reached maturity, while some greens still retain their intensity. This chromatic coexistence implies a seasonal transition moment and adds a delicate nostalgic nuance to the landscape.

Overall, this precious painting offers a serene, luminous, and deeply evocative view of a rural town at the foot of a great mountain chain. The road winding through golden fields draws the eye toward the houses with light facades and reddish rooftops, presided over by an elegant tower that rises above the town’s profile. The combination of warm earth tones, green vegetation, traditional architecture, bluish mountains, and a softly veiled sky creates an atmosphere of peace, belonging, and timeless beauty capable of transporting the viewer to a place where life seems to unfold in harmony with nature.