“Espriu and the Artists”“Espriu and the Artists”“Espriu and the Artists”“Espriu and the Artists”

One day, I picked up my phone and called an old friend from Tarragona. The artist Josep Maria Rosselló, whom I have known since my time working at the newspaper. I had a hunch he might have created something dedicated to Espriu. Indeed, he told me that many years ago he had made a painting dedicated to the poet and donated it to the cemetery of Arenys de Mar. However, he knew nothing of its fate until the present day. What he did tell me was that he was keen to create something new dedicated to the poet. Rosselló, as a native of Tarragona, was aware of the existence of a suite of poems by Espriu, dedicated to the city’s Holy Week. Two weeks later, I received a very beautiful and well-wrapped box in Centelles containing seven small-format paintings. So today we will discuss a new collaboration, specially created between an artist and the work of Salvador Espriu. Furthermore, we are now in the appropriate season.

Espriu himself explains that in the 1960s he created a suite of nine poems dedicated to Holy Week for a bulletin of the Confraternity of Sant Medir in Tarragona. A few years later, the poet revisited the poems and included them in an expanded suite, up to thirty compositions, for a new poetry book by Polígrafa publishing house. The original suite can be read, as is, in Espriu’s Complete Works. The artist Rosselló has based his work on the reading of the Polígrafa book, which is also what I have used as the basis for my observations.

However, the new work could not disregard the painting that Rosselló himself had told me he had gifted. So I inquired with various entities in Arenys de Mar, but no one knew anything about it. Finally, yesterday, Sunday, I persuaded some friends, with whom we were supposed to go to Vidrà, to change our route for a visit to Arenys de Mar. The change did not require much convincing – with all due respect to the forests of Vidrà – and early in the morning we walked through the cemetery, searching for a painting that we obviously did not expect to find hanging outdoors: we looked through the chapel window, through the mortuary’s glass, I asked the caretaker if he had any painting in his office, but no. We also met a lawyer, a native of Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, with roots in Osona, an adopted resident of Arenys, and deeply fond of that land. An expert and scholar of the town’s history and its cemetery inhabitants, he gave us a brief guided tour. Neither he nor his companion knew anything about any painting dedicated to Espriu being there. What he did show us was the poet’s niche, very discreet and in a corner. Had it not been for a former rector of the seaside town, the mortuary plaque would not even have an inscription.

The lawyer, named Ramon, showed us four mausoleums of the town’s prominent figures and explained a little about who they were. All ‘Indians’. What interested me most, however, is that within Espriu’s literary substratum, concerning his Sinera cemetery, there are other literary contributions that also describe the burial ground. And the literary characters that populate the pages of Espriu’s books would be part of the group of deceased buried on the first level of the cemetery, the lowest and dedicated to the most humble departed. At the very top, on the third level, are located the prominent figures, as well as the large tombs and sculptures by Josep Llimona.

After the explanation, our group from Osona left the cemetery, circled it, and went in search of a ‘rialp’, a path parallel to a stream, which followed a route around Arenys de Mar. An arched loop, from the cemetery, towards the highway, crossing the Arenys de Munt road and descending again via another ‘rialp’, down to the beach. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the route were the large houses, likely belonging to former ‘Indians’, in an eclectic style, and especially the sea, with the beach, the port, the fish market, and the boats. One of our companions pointed out that Arenys had been an important shipbuilding center. Walking, we went to a bunker located at the southern end of the town, following the beach. A coffee and then home.

Therefore, as I write these lines, the only visible document I have by Rosselló that connects him with Espriu are the seven drawings or paintings, which are now, in fact, at the La Cooperativa Library in Centelles, where they can be viewed along with a copy of the “Holy Week” book. They can be seen during library hours, on the first floor.

We could say that Espriu takes four defining elements of Holy Week and uses them as a pretext to clothe a series of poems about human, mundane concerns that form part of the poet’s leitmotifs. He speaks of a world without laws, of crime, of the world’s “rooted desolation,” of a wind that instills fear. An interesting verse: “living only has value if we question before the righteous scourge of the single word” (poem V). I am learning that Espriu creates a very abstract language, and therefore, in some ways, open to free interpretation. Like an abstract painting. As the suite progresses, defining elements of Holy Week enter, especially the most important details. Candles and hooded figures of the processions appear, and he speaks of these – an interesting concept – as “walked death.” In poem XVI, he refers to pain and we glimpse a Christ: “his back bent by pain and pierced by irons.” Towards the final verses, women are still seen walking towards a Sepulchre.

Rosselló, our painter from ancient Tarraco, draws from these verses, which diverge somewhat from the traditional Holy Week scheme, and depicts the scenes of a procession. Like a film in different sequences: lighting the candle, columns of hooded figures, the wounds and pain that must be endured as a pledge. The conceptual elements of Espriu’s poems are transmuted into the atmosphere of the paintings, where we see a charged, tenebrist, fearful atmosphere – like the wind of fear. In my view, Rosselló attempts to restore the Tarragona dimension to Espriu’s poems; although the city is not mentioned in the poems or the drawings, it is indeed the lived and shared atmosphere. Rosselló knows the processions of Tarragona, and Espriu states in the prologue that he had gone to see a few, such as the one in Verges. I like Espriu’s prologues because he explains things, and I find that he enjoys writing them, and that communicates.

I received Rosselló’s seven drawings very well-wrapped and protected at home. Since the envelope’s content was new and felt like a discovery, I documented the unwrapping process as if opening an Egyptian sarcophagus. First, the craft paper envelope, and then a very cool, repurposed box with a fitting inscription, an ancient quote about art. The final content consists of Rosselló’s seven drawings, made with paint, sometimes treated like watercolor, sometimes with a more opaque quality. Rosselló is very fond of colors. However, my memory from seven years ago was that the Tarragona artist had a more classicist style. But I don’t mean old-fashioned; rather, he created figures with a Latin flair, with ethnographic roots in Mediterranean villages. And his colors were also very cheerful. In contrast, in the drawings I have received, we find a darker Rosselló, who shies away from description, even narration, and seeks more to convey an impression. Viewed as a whole, I find it to be a beautiful series. The blues are still maritime, and color remains important, but perhaps the artist has matured and is seeking other expressive stages. A retrospective exhibition of the artist’s last seven years would be needed to better assess this. His drawings are seven because he takes the meaning of “week,” of seven days, to create his vision of Espriu’s suite. Espriu’s fears and darkness perhaps also connect with the painter’s present, who, like many, suffers from the economic and social crisis of our times. Rosselló adds touches of hope – his blues and his colors are optimistic – because he is one of those who do not give up. Like Espriu, who, although interested in pessimistic and painful themes, kept going and never stopped writing. Never give up!

All quotes: © Heirs of Salvador Espriu. Licensed by Edicions 62.

One day, I picked up my phone and called an old friend from Tarragona. The artist Josep Maria Rosselló, whom I have known since my time working at the newspaper. I had a hunch he might have created something dedicated to Espriu. Indeed, he told me that many years ago he had made a painting dedicated to the poet and donated it to the cemetery of Arenys de Mar. However, he knew nothing of its fate until the present day. What he did tell me was that he was keen to create something new dedicated to the poet. Rosselló, as a native of Tarragona, was aware of the existence of a suite of poems by Espriu, dedicated to the city’s Holy Week. Two weeks later, I received a very beautiful and well-wrapped box in Centelles containing seven small-format paintings. So today we will discuss a new collaboration, specially created between an artist and the work of Salvador Espriu. Furthermore, we are now in the appropriate season.

Espriu himself explains that in the 1960s he created a suite of nine poems dedicated to Holy Week for a bulletin of the Confraternity of Sant Medir in Tarragona. A few years later, the poet revisited the poems and included them in an expanded suite, up to thirty compositions, for a new poetry book by Polígrafa publishing house. The original suite can be read, as is, in Espriu’s Complete Works. The artist Rosselló has based his work on the reading of the Polígrafa book, which is also what I have used as the basis for my observations.

However, the new work could not disregard the painting that Rosselló himself had told me he had gifted. So I inquired with various entities in Arenys de Mar, but no one knew anything about it. Finally, yesterday, Sunday, I persuaded some friends, with whom we were supposed to go to Vidrà, to change our route for a visit to Arenys de Mar. The change did not require much convincing – with all due respect to the forests of Vidrà – and early in the morning we walked through the cemetery, searching for a painting that we obviously did not expect to find hanging outdoors: we looked through the chapel window, through the mortuary’s glass, I asked the caretaker if he had any painting in his office, but no. We also met a lawyer, a native of Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, with roots in Osona, an adopted resident of Arenys, and deeply fond of that land. An expert and scholar of the town’s history and its cemetery inhabitants, he gave us a brief guided tour. Neither he nor his companion knew anything about any painting dedicated to Espriu being there. What he did show us was the poet’s niche, very discreet and in a corner. Had it not been for a former rector of the seaside town, the mortuary plaque would not even have an inscription.

The lawyer, named Ramon, showed us four mausoleums of the town’s prominent figures and explained a little about who they were. All ‘Indians’. What interested me most, however, is that within Espriu’s literary substratum, concerning his Sinera cemetery, there are other literary contributions that also describe the burial ground. And the literary characters that populate the pages of Espriu’s books would be part of the group of deceased buried on the first level of the cemetery, the lowest and dedicated to the most humble departed. At the very top, on the third level, are located the prominent figures, as well as the large tombs and sculptures by Josep Llimona.

After the explanation, our group from Osona left the cemetery, circled it, and went in search of a ‘rialp’, a path parallel to a stream, which followed a route around Arenys de Mar. An arched loop, from the cemetery, towards the highway, crossing the Arenys de Munt road and descending again via another ‘rialp’, down to the beach. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the route were the large houses, likely belonging to former ‘Indians’, in an eclectic style, and especially the sea, with the beach, the port, the fish market, and the boats. One of our companions pointed out that Arenys had been an important shipbuilding center. Walking, we went to a bunker located at the southern end of the town, following the beach. A coffee and then home.

Therefore, as I write these lines, the only visible document I have by Rosselló that connects him with Espriu are the seven drawings or paintings, which are now, in fact, at the La Cooperativa Library in Centelles, where they can be viewed along with a copy of the “Holy Week” book. They can be seen during library hours, on the first floor.

We could say that Espriu takes four defining elements of Holy Week and uses them as a pretext to clothe a series of poems about human, mundane concerns that form part of the poet’s leitmotifs. He speaks of a world without laws, of crime, of the world’s “rooted desolation,” of a wind that instills fear. An interesting verse: “living only has value if we question before the righteous scourge of the single word” (poem V). I am learning that Espriu creates a very abstract language, and therefore, in some ways, open to free interpretation. Like an abstract painting. As the suite progresses, defining elements of Holy Week enter, especially the most important details. Candles and hooded figures of the processions appear, and he speaks of these – an interesting concept – as “walked death.” In poem XVI, he refers to pain and we glimpse a Christ: “his back bent by pain and pierced by irons.” Towards the final verses, women are still seen walking towards a Sepulchre.

Rosselló, our painter from ancient Tarraco, draws from these verses, which diverge somewhat from the traditional Holy Week scheme, and depicts the scenes of a procession. Like a film in different sequences: lighting the candle, columns of hooded figures, the wounds and pain that must be endured as a pledge. The conceptual elements of Espriu’s poems are transmuted into the atmosphere of the paintings, where we see a charged, tenebrist, fearful atmosphere – like the wind of fear. In my view, Rosselló attempts to restore the Tarragona dimension to Espriu’s poems; although the city is not mentioned in the poems or the drawings, it is indeed the lived and shared atmosphere. Rosselló knows the processions of Tarragona, and Espriu states in the prologue that he had gone to see a few, such as the one in Verges. I like Espriu’s prologues because he explains things, and I find that he enjoys writing them, and that communicates.

The seven drawings by Rosselló arrived at my home very well wrapped and protected. As the contents of the envelope were new and felt like a discovery, I documented the unwrapping process as if opening an Egyptian sarcophagus. First, the craft paper envelope, and then a very appealing box, repurposed and bearing a fitting inscription, an ancient quote about art. The final contents are Rosselló’s seven drawings, created with paint, sometimes treated like watercolor, sometimes with a more opaque quality. Rosselló is very fond of colors. However, my memory from seven years ago was that the artist from Tarragona had a more classicist-rooted style. But I do not mean old-fashioned; rather, he created figures with a Latin air, with ethnographic roots in the Mediterranean villages. And his use of colors was also very joyful. In contrast, in the drawings I have received, we find a darker Rosselló, one who evades description, even narration, and seeks more to convey an impression. Viewed as a whole, I find it to be a beautiful series. The blues are still maritime, and color remains important, but perhaps the artist has matured and is exploring other expressive phases. A retrospective exhibition of the artist’s last seven years would be needed to better assess this. His drawings are seven in number because he embraces the meaning of “week,” of seven days, to present his vision of Espriu’s suite. Espriu’s fears and darkness perhaps also connect with the painter’s present, who, like many, suffers from the economic and social crisis of our times. Rosselló adds touches of hope – his blues and colors are optimistic – because he is one who does not give up. Like Espriu, who, although interested in pessimistic and painful themes, kept going and never stopped writing. Never give up!

All quotes: © Heirs of Salvador Espriu. Licensed by Edicions 62.

One day, I picked up my phone and called an old friend from Tarragona, the artist Josep Maria Rosselló, whom I have known since my time working at the newspaper. I had a hunch he might have created something dedicated to Espriu. Indeed, he explained that many years ago he had made a painting dedicated to the poet and donated it to the cemetery in Arenys de Mar. However, he knew nothing of its fate until today. What he did tell me was that he felt like creating something new dedicated to the poet. Rosselló, being from Tarragona, was aware of the existence of a suite of poems by Espriu, dedicated to the city’s Holy Week. Two weeks later, I received a very beautiful and well-wrapped box in Centelles containing seven small-format paintings. Therefore, today we will discuss a new collaboration, specially created between an artist and the work of Salvador Espriu. Moreover, the timing is now appropriate.

Espriu himself explains that in the sixties he created a suite of nine poems dedicated to Holy Week for a bulletin of the Confraternity of Sant Medir in Tarragona. After a few years, the poet revisited the poems and included them in an expansion of the suite, up to about thirty compositions, for a new poetry book by Polígrafa publishing house. The original suite can be read, as is, in Espriu’s Complete Works. The artist Rosselló has based his work on the reading of the Polígrafa book, which is also what I have used as the basis for my observations.

However, the new work could not disregard the painting that Rosselló himself had told me he had gifted. So, I inquired with various entities in Arenys de Mar, but no one knew anything about it. Finally, yesterday, Sunday, I persuaded some friends, with whom we were supposed to go to Vidrà, to change our route for a visit to Arenys de Mar. The change did not require much persuasion – with all due respect to the forests of Vidrà – and very early in the morning, we walked through the cemetery, searching for a painting that we obviously did not expect to find hanging outdoors: we looked through the chapel window, through the funeral home windows, I asked the concierge if he had any painting in his office, but no. We also met a lawyer, a native of Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, with roots in Osona, an adopted resident of Arenys, and deeply fond of that land. An expert and scholar of the town’s history and the cemetery’s inhabitants, he gave us a brief guided tour. Neither he nor his companion knew anything about any painting dedicated to Espriu being there. What he did show us was the poet’s niche, very discreet and in a corner. Had it not been for a former rector of the fishing village, the mortuary plaque would not even have an inscription.

The lawyer, named Ramon, showed us four mausoleums of the town’s leading citizens and explained a little about who they were. All of them were ‘indianos’ (Catalans who returned wealthy from the Americas). What interested me most, however, is that within Espriu’s literary substratum, concerning the cemetery of his Sinera, there are other literary contributions that also describe the burial ground. And the literary characters that populate the pages of Espriu’s books would be part of the group of deceased buried on the first level of the cemetery, the lowest and dedicated to the most humble departed. At the very top, on the third level, are located the notables, as well as the grand sepulchers and sculptures by Josep Llimona.

After the explanation, our group from Osona left the cemetery, turned around, and went in search of a ‘rialp,’ a path parallel to a stream, which followed an itinerary around Arenys de Mar. An arched loop, from the cemetery, towards the highway, crossing the Arenys de Munt road and descending again along another ‘rialp’ to the beach. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the route was the grand houses, likely belonging to former ‘indianos,’ in an eclectic style, and especially the sea, with the beach, the port, the fish market, and the boats. One of our companions pointed out that Arenys had been an important shipbuilding location. Walking, we went to a bunker at the southern end of the town, following the beach. A coffee and then home.

Therefore, at the time of writing these lines, the only visible document I have by Rosselló that connects him with Espriu are the seven drawings or paintings, which, in fact, are now at the La Cooperativa Library in Centelles, where they can be viewed along with a copy of the “Holy Week” book. They can be seen during library hours, on the first floor.

Espriu, we could say, takes four defining elements of Holy Week and uses them as a pretext to imbue a series of poems about human, worldly concerns that form part of the poet’s leitmotifs. He speaks of a world without laws, of crime, of the world’s «deep-seated desolation», of a frightening wind. An interesting verse: “living only has value if we question before the just scourging of the single word” (poem V). I am learning that Espriu creates a very abstract language, and therefore, in some ways, open to free interpretation. Like an abstract painting. As the suite progresses, defining elements of Holy Week enter, and especially the most important details. Candles and hooded figures from the processions appear, and of these – an interesting concept – he speaks of «death walked». In poem XVI, he refers to pain, and we glimpse a Christ: «his back bent by pain and pierced by irons». Further towards the last verses, women appear walking towards a Sepulchre.

Rosselló, our painter from ancient Tarraco, takes these verses that deviate slightly from the traditional Holy Week scheme and depicts the scenes of a procession. Like a film in different sequences: lighting the candle, the columns of hooded figures, the wounds and pain that must be endured as a pledge. The conceptual elements of Espriu’s poems are transmuted into the atmosphere of the paintings, where we see a charged, tenebrist, fearful environment – like the wind of fear. In my view, Rosselló attempts to restore the Tarragona dimension to Espriu’s poems, although the city is not cited in either the poems or the drawings, it is indeed the lived and common atmosphere. Rosselló is familiar with the processions of Tarragona, and Espriu states in the prologue that he had gone to see a few, such as the one in Verges. I appreciate Espriu’s prologues because he explains things, and I find that he enjoys creating them, and this is communicated.

The seven drawings by Rosselló arrived at my home very well wrapped and protected. As the contents of the envelope were new and felt like a discovery, I documented the unwrapping process as if opening an Egyptian sarcophagus. First, the craft paper envelope, and then a very appealing box, repurposed and bearing a fitting inscription, an ancient quote about art. The final contents are Rosselló’s seven drawings, created with paint, sometimes treated like watercolor, sometimes with a more opaque quality. Rosselló is very fond of colors. However, my memory from seven years ago was that the artist from Tarragona had a more classicist-rooted style. But I do not mean old-fashioned; rather, he created figures with a Latin air, with ethnographic roots in the Mediterranean villages. And his use of colors was also very joyful. In contrast, in the drawings I have received, we find a darker Rosselló, one who evades description, even narration, and seeks more to convey an impression. Viewed as a whole, I find it to be a beautiful series. The blues are still maritime, and color remains important, but perhaps the artist has matured and is exploring other expressive phases. A retrospective exhibition of the artist’s last seven years would be needed to better assess this. His drawings are seven in number because he embraces the meaning of “week,” of seven days, to present his vision of Espriu’s suite. Espriu’s fears and darkness perhaps also connect with the painter’s present, who, like many, suffers from the economic and social crisis of our times. Rosselló adds touches of hope – his blues and colors are optimistic – because he is one who does not give up. Like Espriu, who, although interested in pessimistic and painful themes, kept going and never stopped writing. Never give up!

All quotes: © Heirs of Salvador Espriu. Licensed by Edicions 62.

One day, I picked up my phone and called an old friend from Tarragona, the artist Josep Maria Rosselló, whom I have known since my time working at the newspaper. I had a hunch he might have created something dedicated to Espriu. Indeed, he explained that many years ago he had made a painting dedicated to the poet and donated it to the cemetery in Arenys de Mar. However, he knew nothing of its fate until today. What he did tell me was that he felt like creating something new dedicated to the poet. Rosselló, being from Tarragona, was aware of the existence of a suite of poems by Espriu, dedicated to the city’s Holy Week. Two weeks later, I received a very beautiful and well-wrapped box in Centelles containing seven small-format paintings. Therefore, today we will discuss a new collaboration, specially created between an artist and the work of Salvador Espriu. Moreover, the timing is now appropriate.

Espriu himself explains that in the sixties he created a suite of nine poems dedicated to Holy Week for a bulletin of the Confraternity of Sant Medir in Tarragona. After a few years, the poet revisited the poems and included them in an expansion of the suite, up to about thirty compositions, for a new poetry book by Polígrafa publishing house. The original suite can be read, as is, in Espriu’s Complete Works. The artist Rosselló has based his work on the reading of the Polígrafa book, which is also what I have used as the basis for my observations.

However, the new work could not disregard the painting that Rosselló himself had told me he had gifted. So, I inquired with various entities in Arenys de Mar, but no one knew anything about it. Finally, yesterday, Sunday, I persuaded some friends, with whom we were supposed to go to Vidrà, to change our route for a visit to Arenys de Mar. The change did not require much persuasion – with all due respect to the forests of Vidrà – and very early in the morning, we walked through the cemetery, searching for a painting that we obviously did not expect to find hanging outdoors: we looked through the chapel window, through the funeral home windows, I asked the concierge if he had any painting in his office, but no. We also met a lawyer, a native of Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, with roots in Osona, an adopted resident of Arenys, and deeply fond of that land. An expert and scholar of the town’s history and the cemetery’s inhabitants, he gave us a brief guided tour. Neither he nor his companion knew anything about any painting dedicated to Espriu being there. What he did show us was the poet’s niche, very discreet and in a corner. Had it not been for a former rector of the fishing village, the mortuary plaque would not even have an inscription.

The lawyer, named Ramon, showed us four mausoleums of the town’s leading citizens and explained a little about who they were. All of them were ‘indianos’ (Catalans who returned wealthy from the Americas). What interested me most, however, is that within Espriu’s literary substratum, concerning the cemetery of his Sinera, there are other literary contributions that also describe the burial ground. And the literary characters that populate the pages of Espriu’s books would be part of the group of deceased buried on the first level of the cemetery, the lowest and dedicated to the most humble departed. At the very top, on the third level, are located the notables, as well as the grand sepulchers and sculptures by Josep Llimona.

After the explanation, our group from Osona left the cemetery, turned around, and went in search of a ‘rialp,’ a path parallel to a stream, which followed an itinerary around Arenys de Mar. An arched loop, from the cemetery, towards the highway, crossing the Arenys de Munt road and descending again along another ‘rialp’ to the beach. Perhaps the most beautiful part of the route was the grand houses, likely belonging to former ‘indianos,’ in an eclectic style, and especially the sea, with the beach, the port, the fish market, and the boats. One of our companions pointed out that Arenys had been an important shipbuilding location. Walking, we went to a bunker at the southern end of the town, following the beach. A coffee and then home.

Therefore, at the time of writing these lines, the only visible document I have by Rosselló that connects him with Espriu are the seven drawings or paintings, which, in fact, are now at the La Cooperativa Library in Centelles, where they can be viewed along with a copy of the “Holy Week” book. They can be seen during library hours, on the first floor.

Espriu, we could say, takes four defining elements of Holy Week and uses them as a pretext to imbue a series of poems about human, worldly concerns that form part of the poet’s leitmotifs. He speaks of a world without laws, of crime, of the world’s «deep-seated desolation», of a frightening wind. An interesting verse: “living only has value if we question before the just scourging of the single word” (poem V). I am learning that Espriu creates a very abstract language, and therefore, in some ways, open to free interpretation. Like an abstract painting. As the suite progresses, defining elements of Holy Week enter, and especially the most important details. Candles and hooded figures from the processions appear, and of these – an interesting concept – he speaks of «death walked». In poem XVI, he refers to pain, and we glimpse a Christ: «his back bent by pain and pierced by irons». Further towards the last verses, women appear walking towards a Sepulchre.

Rosselló, our painter from ancient Tarraco, departs from these verses that stray somewhat from the traditional Holy Week scheme and depicts the scenes of a procession. Like a film in different sequences: lighting the candle, the columns of hooded figures, the wounds and pain that must be endured as a pledge. The conceptual elements of Espriu’s poems are transmuted into the atmosphere of the paintings, where we observe a heavy, tenebrist, fearful ambiance – like the wind of fear. In my view, Rosselló attempts to restore the Tarragona dimension to Espriu’s poems, although the city is not mentioned in either the poems or the drawings, yet it is the lived and shared environment. Rosselló is familiar with the processions of Tarragona, and Espriu states in the prologue that he had attended a few, such as the one in Verges. I appreciate Espriu’s prologues because he explains things, and I find that he enjoys writing them, and this is conveyed.

The seven drawings by Rosselló arrived at my home very well wrapped and protected. As the envelope’s contents were new and felt like a discovery, I documented the unwrapping process as if opening an Egyptian sarcophagus. First, the craft paper envelope, and then a very charming, repurposed box with a fitting inscription, an ancient quote about art. The final contents are Rosselló’s seven drawings, created with paint, sometimes treated like watercolor, sometimes with a more opaque quality. Rosselló is very fond of colors. However, my recollection from seven years ago was that the Tarragona artist had a more classicist style. But I do not mean old-fashioned; rather, he created figures with a Latin flair, with ethnographic roots in the Mediterranean villages. And his use of colors was also very vibrant. In contrast, in the drawings I have received, we find a darker Rosselló, who shies away from description, even narration, and seeks more to convey an impression. Viewed as a whole, I find it to be a beautiful series. The blues are still maritime, and color remains important, but perhaps the artist has matured and is seeking other expressive phases. A retrospective exhibition of the artist’s last seven years would be needed to better assess this. His drawings are seven in number because he embraces the concept of “week,” of seven days, to create his vision of Espriu’s suite. Espriu’s fears and darkness may also connect with the painter’s present, who, like many, is suffering from the economic and social crisis of our times. Rosselló adds touches of hope – his blues and colors are optimistic – because he is one of those who do not give up. Like Espriu, who, although interested in pessimistic and painful themes, persevered and never stopped writing. Never give up!

All quotes: © Heirs of Salvador Espriu. Licensed by Edicions 62.