Madrid, 1858 -1926 · Guadarrama, architecture and the outdoors

From a stony loma, the luminous paths descend towards the Escorial: Borrell Vidal balances the immensity of the sierra and the precision of the monastery.

Félix Borrell Vidal was born and died in Madrid, from 1858 to 1926. A landscape painter trained at the San Fernando School, he also worked as a pharmacist and music critic. He participated in numerous exhibitions and received a third national medal in 1904. Paysage de l'Escurial, signed and dated 1901, is an oil on canvas measuring 91 × 150 cm. The viewpoint is located on a height of the Sierra de Guadarrama: stones, bushes and brightly lit paths occupy the foreground. Further on, the monastery of San Lorenzo appears from the rear, recognizable by the dome of its basilica; Further on, the monastery of San Lorenzo appears from the rear, recognizable by the dome of its basilica; Further on, the monastery of San Lorenzo appears from the back, recognizable by the dome of its basilica; the village extends to the right. Mountains and blue sky crossed by clouds close the horizon. Architecture, small but clean, does not crush nature: it becomes a human measure in the sober scale of the sierra. The "Félix Borrell Vidal" selection notably compares Landscape of the Escorial. His reading favors details.

Borrell places the Escorial far enough away that the monument does not dominate the landscape, but clearly enough that it becomes the measure of it.