Marcel’s Meadow: An approach to the work of Lluïsa Vidal (Barcelona, 1876-1918)

Abstract

The Portrait of Marcel de Montoliu as a child by the painter Lluïsa Vidal (Barcelona, 1876-1918) offers compelling evidence of the re-evaluation of children’s play that took place at the end of the 19th century throughout the West. The article, structured in seven sections, locates the portrait against the context of representations of childhood of the period. In addition, it uses this work to analyse aspects of the artist’s personality, and traces for the first time the biography of the boy who posed for her.