Carlos Nadal: Joie de Vivre

Carlos Nadal Joie de Vivre 19th June - 26th July 2025

“Look up and around, not down at the pavement, as so many people do.

Make time to enjoy the day and feast off the joie de vivre.”

- Carlos Nadal

STERN PISSARRO GALLERY

FOREWORD I was delighted to hear that an exhibition of the French-born Spanish painter Carlos Nadal will be held at Stern Pissarro Gallery, where visitors can see a grand selection of previously unseen Nadal works from a private collection alongside paintings that have appeared in exhibitions across the U.K. and Europe. This is a great opportunity to add a work by this most exciting Expressionist painter to your collection.

Nadal’s early life was extraordinary. Born in Paris in 1917 to Spanish parents, he grew up in the Montmartre studio of his father, Santiago Nadal, who ran a commercial painting workshop.

After returning from the Great War, Santiago—like many French artists of the day—was deeply engaged in Paris’s celebrated café-society culture, where painters drifted in and out of each other’s studios to exchange ideas and gossip.

Nadal working at the studio Nr. Barcelona 1970s.

The Nadal Archive.

In his youth, Nadal would often play and draw on the workshop floor. During this period, several artists who are now considered Fauvist masters—Braque, Léger, Dufy, Picasso, and Utrillo—encouraged him to paint.

In his later life, Nadal returned to Barcelona after fighting in the Spanish Civil War. He lost his father during this time, but received support and encouragement from Picasso, whom he had known since childhood.

This catalogue even includes a photograph of Nadal visiting Picasso at his Vallauris villa in 1954.

In 1996 an eminent critic dubbed Nadal “the last of the Fauves,” reflecting his first-hand links to the original Expressionist circle.

Indeed, at this time he was among the very few 20th-century artists still alive who could claim such direct connections.

Carlos Nadal with Pablo Picasso, 1954.

The Nadal Archive.

Courtesy of The Picasso Museum Barcelona.

2

“Since painting does not say what I am, I shall be what I paint”

Nadal working on a large format painting Sitges 1990s.

There are many good painters in the world, however, there is only one Carlos Nadal.

Though he is sometimes compared with Dufy or Utrillo, Nadal cultivated a distinctly naïve-expressionist style all his own.

His interior scenes are especially charming: viewers might spot a painted homage to Matisse, Léger, or Picasso hanging in one of his imagined salons. These works induce the onlooker to keep looking deeper and deeper into the world of Nadal. Whether depicting landscapes, marine vistas, or domestic interiors, Nadal’s canvases create a light-hearted joy and beauty which can be enjoyed by collectors who are driven to investigate more.

Nadal experimented freely with media.

While he began with oils, pencil, watercolour, and gouache, he later combined traditional materials with mixed media whenever they produced the effect he sought. He often painted multiple versions of favourite subjects, each with its own nuance.

Good art should evoke in one a desire to look, to enjoy, and perhaps possess. I have always found the first instinct that draws you to a work is usually the right one.

Carlos Nadal at John Duncalfe’s Flat.

Little Venice, 1987.

The Nadal Family Archive.

John Duncalfe, Author and Collector Member of Le Comite Nadal 4

Les bateaux, 1990 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

6

Salon Rojo, 1992 Oil on canvas 89 x 116 cm (35 x 45 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

8

Bains de mer, 1995 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

10

Concert, 1981 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 54 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 21 ¹/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

12

Plage du nord, 1983 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

14

Chez Marguerite, circa 1987 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

16

Sitges fantastique Acrylic on canvas 54 x 65 cm (21 ¹/₄ x 25 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

18

À 30km de Paris, 1985 Acrylic on canvas 54 x 73 cm (21 ¹/₄ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

20

Boxeo, 1971 Acrylic on canvas 49 x 79 cm (19 ¹/₄ x 31 ¹/₈ inches) Signed and dated upper left, nadal 71

22

La grande place, circa 1980 Acrylic on canvas 81 x 100 cm (31 ⁷/₈ x 39 ³/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

24

Bouquet de fleurs, 1988 Acrylic on canvas 73 x 92 cm (28 ³/₄ x 36 ¹/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

26

Le port, 1982 Acrylic on canvas 54 x 65 cm (21 ¹/₄ x 25 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

28

Teatre, circa 1990 Acrylic on canvas 73 x 92 cm (28 ³/₄ x 36 ¹/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

30

Tardor, circa 1987-89 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

32

Playa y nubes, 1986 Acrylic on canvas 50 x 65 cm (19 ³/₄ x 25 ⁵/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

34

Bajo Panadés, 1980 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed and dated lower right, nadal 80

36

La grande fenêtre ouverte, 1992 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

38

Descanso, 1982 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

40

Untitled, 1976 Acrylic on canvas 40 x 49 cm (15 ³/₄ x 19 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower right, nadal 76

42

Interior d'Estudi, 1987 Acrylic on canvas 65 x 54 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 21 ¹/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

44

La Maison à Trouville Oil and mixed media on canvas 65.1 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal Signed, titled and stamped with the artist's atelier stamp on the reverse Executed circa 1980

46

Chambre au reflets, 1990 Acrylic on canvas 60 x 73 cm (23 ⁵/₈ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal

48

Untitled, circa 1949-50 Oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm (25 ⁵/₈ x 31 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower left, carlos nadal

50

Armenonville (Arrabai Paris), 1969 Oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm (31 ⁷/₈ x 39 ³/₈ inches) Signed lower right, Nadal Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

52

Pomes i Peres, 1976 Oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm (36 ¹/₄ x 28 ³/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower right, nadal 76

54

Mañuela, 1980 Oil and mixed media on canvas 73 x 92 cm (28 ³/₄ x 36 ¹/₄ inches) Signed and dated lower right, nadal 80 Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

56

Le Paddock, 1956 Watercolour and ink on paper 31 x 38 cm (12 ¹/₄ x 15 inches) Signed and dated lower right, nadal 56 Stamped with the Atelier mark on the backboard

58

Sitges Gouache and felt tip on paper 32 x 45 cm (12 ⁵/₈ x 17 ³/₄ inches) Signed lower right, nadal Executed circa 1980

60

New York Felt tip and gouache on paper 26 x 22.5 cm (10 ¹/₄ x 8 ⁷/₈ inches) Signed lower right, nadal Executed circa 1980

62

Carlos nadal in his studio at Sitges, 1980s

All works are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

STERN PISSARRO GALLERY 66 St James’s Street, SW1A 1NE London +44 (0)20 7629 6662 stern@pissarro. com www.pissarro.art