Tónia Coll

This portrait of Tónia Coll was conceived as part of an early series dedicated to figures closely connected to the origins of Davis Museum Barcelona. A former professor of Fine Arts at the University of Barcelona, Coll appears here not only as an individual subject, but as part of the personal and artistic framework from which the museum first emerged.

The painting draws on the luminous brushwork and humanist sensitivity associated with Joaquín Sorolla, reinterpreted here through a restrained range of greys. Its surface remains fluid and atmospheric, allowing the image to unfold through tonal nuance rather than descriptive precision.

Part of the Gray Period, the work reflects a moment in which palette, format, and structure were brought into close relation. The square composition echoes the cubic form of Davis Museum Barcelona itself, reinforcing the continuity between the painting and the conceptual architecture of the museum.

Within this broader framework, the work belongs to The Painting Section from Davis Museum Barcelona, the only section of the museum in which artworks are available for acquisition. It also extends a lineage of artists who turned the museum into an artistic medium, from Marcel Duchamp’s Boîte-en-valise to Robert Filliou’s Galerie légitime and Marcel Broodthaers’ Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles.