Alfredo Opisso Spanish Modern Equestrian Oil Painting With Jockeys And Carriage Horses 1970

Spanish Modern Equestrian Oil Painting with Jockeys and Carriage

ARTIST

Alfredo Opisso Cardona
Barcelona, 1907 – Mataró, 1980

Artist: Alfredo Opisso Cardona
Title: Hípica / Equestrian Scene
Date: 1970
Medium: Oil on board
Style: Modern Figurative / Spanish Modern
Subject: Equestrian scene, horse racing, jockeys, carriage
Signed: Signed “A. Opisso” lower right; signed and dated 1970 on the reverse
Period: 1970s
Origin: Spain

Painting dimensions: 19 × 24 cm / 7.48 × 9.45 in.
Framed dimensions: 35 × 40 cm / 13.78 × 15.75 in.

Presented in its decorative giltwood frame.

DESCRIPTION

A highly decorative 1970 equestrian oil painting by Catalan artist Alfredo Opisso Cardona, depicting an elegant horse-racing scene with jockeys, thoroughbred horses, spectators and a horse-drawn carriage.

The composition captures the sophisticated atmosphere of European equestrian society through Opisso’s characteristic loose and expressive figurative language. A jockey in red-and-white racing silks dominates the foreground on a chestnut horse, while an elegant black carriage, additional riders and formally dressed spectators create a lively narrative across the composition.

The unusual pale turquoise-green background provides a striking contrast with the deep blacks of the carriage and the rich chestnut tones of the horses. Small accents of red, pink and yellow add rhythm and visual movement.

Opisso uses rapid, confident brushwork rather than academic detail, giving the scene freshness and immediacy. Horses, wheels, figures and costumes are reduced to expressive lines and blocks of colour, creating an elegant image that sits between traditional sporting art and 20th-century European modern figurative painting.

The combination of horse racing, jockeys, period dress and carriage makes this an especially appealing example of Spanish equestrian painting and European sporting art.

The painting retains an old Lamas Bolaño auction label on the reverse identifying the artist, title “Hípica,” medium and dimensions.

ARTIST BIO

Alfredo Opisso Cardona was born in Barcelona in 1907 into one of Catalonia’s notable artistic families. He was the son of the celebrated Catalan draughtsman, illustrator and caricaturist Ricard Opisso.

He received his early artistic education within this environment and later trained at the Acadèmia Baixas and the Escola de la Llotja in Barcelona.

Opisso began exhibiting at a remarkably young age and developed a long career as both painter and draughtsman. His work remained principally figurative and encompassed portraits, elegant social scenes, circus subjects, interiors and scenes of contemporary life.

Particularly admired for his drawing, Opisso received important recognition during his career, including the prestigious Ynglada-Guillot Drawing Prize.

In 1947 he settled in Mataró, where he lived and worked until his death in 1980.

His combination of elegant drawing, spontaneous brushwork and observation of fashionable social life places his work within the wider tradition of 20th-century Catalan and European figurative modernism.

ARTISTIC CONTEXT

This work belongs to the European tradition of modern equestrian and society painting, where sporting subjects became a vehicle for exploring movement, colour and contemporary social life.

Its fluid drawing, flattened areas of colour and deliberately spontaneous handling can be appreciated alongside the work of international artists such as Raoul Dufy, Jean Dufy and Marcel Vertès, particularly in their depictions of racecourses, fashionable crowds and leisure scenes.

Rather than pursuing photographic realism, Opisso captures the atmosphere of the event: the elegant silhouettes, racing colours, horses, carriage wheels and spectators become a rhythmic arrangement of line and colour.

CONDITION

Good vintage condition consistent with age.

The painting presents well, with minor surface wear consistent with its age. The decorative gilt frame shows visible age-related wear, losses and patina, which contribute to its antique character.

Please refer to the detailed photographs.

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European art with a Mediterranean soul.