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 resembling 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 panel signed by the artist in the lower left corner, J. Coderch.
· 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 form an integral part of the lot description.

The painting will be professionally packaged 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 features an elegant profile of a woman, seen in half-length, represented on a singular oval support whose shape clearly recalls a painter's palette. The protagonist gazes serenely to the left, unaware of the viewer, while her pale face emerges between a dark background, a delicate lace collar, and abundant floral decoration. The piece’s distinctive silhouette 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 extremes softly envelop 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 with a painter’s palette turned into an artistic support. The work thus gains a double dimension: it can be viewed as a highly 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 raised and turned to the left, showing a clean and refined profile. The forehead, nose, lips, and chin form a continuous line of great delicacy. This arrangement gives the face a calm and contemplative presence, as if the woman were looking at something outside the composition or lost in her own thoughts.

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

The visible eye is depicted discreetly and slightly downward, reinforcing the sense of introspection. It is not a challenging or viewer-directed gaze, but a restrained and distant expression. This attitude allows us to imagine a calm, elegant, and self-confident woman, surprised in a moment of quiet. Her identity remains open to interpretation and promotes a poetic reading of the portrait.

The lips, defined by a small reddish 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 excessive gesture and preserves the intimate character of the image. Together with the line of the nose and the curve of the chin, the lips contribute to a harmonious and distinguished female profile.

The hair is another striking area of the work. It is gathered at the back of the head into a large dark volume, composed of browns, blacks, violets and reddish highlights. Its mass contrasts strongly with the clarity of the face and allows the profile to be perfectly delineated. The hairstyle suggests careful presentation and reinforces the timeless elegance of the protagonist.

At the top of the hair appears a floral adornment composed of reds, pinks, blacks, whites, and violets. The flowers seem to intertwine with the gathered hair, 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 woman’s head with the flowers scattered on the lower part.

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

The flowers do not appear as a completely independent bouquet, but as an extension of the clothing 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 several flowers in pink, violet, white and green are also discernible. Their presence balances the left floral accumulation and extends the ornamentation across the lower area. Although smaller and more dispersed, these flowers help frame the subject’s bust and maintain the color continuity of the whole.

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 highlights, colors that relate directly to the skin and illuminated areas of the background. On the chest sits a wide triangular element of delicate appearance that directs 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, frilled edges, and repeated motifs that create a light and ornamental surface. It rises around the neck and descends toward the center of the chest, adding volume and distinction. Its whitish gray color contrasts with the deeper tones of the lower garment.

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

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

The right sleeve forms a large dark curve that approaches the oval’s bottom edge. Delicate white and blueish reflections on it suggest folds and changes of light. On the left, another dark area serves as a base for the flowers and creates a counterpoint against the brightness of the neck and face.

The background is built with a dark atmosphere of browns, grays, blacks, worn greens, and violets. It does not define a recognizable room or 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 areas of the background, lighter zones surround the face and shoulders. These greenish, creamy, and yellowish areas act as a soft glow and separate the silhouette from the darkness. The lighting does not seem to come from a single point, but is distributed in an enveloping way to highlight the features, the lace, and the flowers.

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

The color palette gathers sober tones with small bursts of color. Browns, grays, blacks, and subdued greens provide an elegant base, while reds, violets, pinks, blues, and yellows in the flowers animate the whole. These color accents are not flashy 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 ample space in front of the profile allows the woman’s gaze to breathe and accentuates the sense of contemplation.

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

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

This singular format makes the piece more than a conventional portrait. The curve of the support conforms to the head, shoulders, and sleeves, creating a very tight unity between image and object. The woman seems to inhabit completely the interior of the oval, while flowers and fabrics accompany her contour up to 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 combination of these elements builds an idealized feminine image, placed between the 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 diffused forms around it provide 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 precious painting presents the elegant portrait of a profile of a woman on an original oval support that clearly recalls a painter’s palette. Her serene and luminous face, the elaborate hair adorned with flowers, the delicate lace collar, and the abundant floral ornamentation construct a deeply refined and mysterious image. The harmony between the dark background tones, the clarity of the skin, and the red, violet, blue, and yellow accents transforms the work into an intimate evocation of femininity, beauty, and artistic creation.