Information

Artist: Josep Colomer Comas
Medium: Oil on Canvas 
Dimensions (Framed): 27 x 35 cm
Date: c.1950 - c.1960s
Condition Report: Excellent

Description

A brushfire is brought to life in this masterful composition by Colomer against a dampened, overcast sky. Colomer's tonal training comes into the fore, with the soft atmospheric transitions are set in high contrast to the vibrant, impasto flickers of the fire. Two figures are seen tending to the blaze, grounding the work in the rural labor typical of the Girona region. This piece captures a fleeting, sensory moment of Catalan life, where the scent of smoke and the chill of the mist seem to radiate from the canvas.

Equally, the proximity of the flames to the skeletal trees in the background introduces a possible note of peril, suggesting the fire may be on the verge of raging out of control. This shift in perspective transforms the figures from diligent workers into characters in a more sinister narrative. Rather than tending the blaze, they seem to be hastily packing and retreating from an encroaching threat. Colomer’s restrained palette, dominated by earthy ochres, muted greens, and silhouetted greys, allows the warmth of the flames to act as a volatile emotional anchor. It is a masterful duality, capturing both a sensory moment of Catalan life alongside a mounting sense of urgency that radiates from the canvas.

Biography

Josep Colomer Comas (1935–2003) was a Catalan landscape painter closely associated with the post-war continuation of the Olot School tradition in northern Spain. Born in Sant Feliu de Pallerols near Olot in the province of Girona, he developed an early artistic sensibility to Catalan landscape painting.

Colomer received his formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Olot, where he studied under the painter Lluís Carbonell. This education grounded him in disciplined observational drawing and tonal painting, which remained central to his mature style. His works are characterised by structured compositions, soft atmospheric transitions, and a restrained palette reflecting the changing light of the Catalan countryside.

His first solo exhibition was held in 1959 at Galeria Armengol in Olot, marking the beginning of a sustained exhibition career. Over time he showed work in numerous Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Castellón, and Girona, maintaining a consistent presence in regional gallery circuits.

His works remain in private collections throughout Spain and continue to occasionally appear on regional European auction markets.