# Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem

Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem is a painting by Ramon Casas in exhibition at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.

## Description

Casas painted Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem in 1897 specifically for the interior of Els Quatre Gats, a bar that was at the center of the Modernisme art movement in Barcelona. It depicts Casas and Pere Romeu, one of the promoters of Els Quatre Gats, on a tandem bicycle against the Barcelona skyline. Casas is seen in profile with his pipe, while Romeu looks directly at the viewer. Although painted on canvas, the composition has the graphic quality of a huge poster with its bold drawing and simplified forms, reflecting the fact that the artist was a skilled poster designer and illustrator.
The original inscription in Catalan on the right side of the painting, which was later cut off, read "to ride a bicycle, you can't go with your back straight." The message described the attitude of the bar founders (two of whom are depicted here), that to make progress, you must break with tradition, as was done at Els Quatre Gats. In 1901, this painting was replaced with another large composition by Casas, entitled Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu in an Automobile, in which the tandem bicycle has given way to a car, symbolizing the new century. When reproductions of the two paintings appeared in the magazine Pel & Ploma, they were referred to as The End of the 19th Century and The Beginning of the 20th Century, respectively.

## Exhibition history

| Year | Museum or gallery | City | Title |
| 1897-1900 | Els Quatre Gats | Barcelona | |
| 1958 | Palau de la Virreina | Barcelona | Ramon Casas |
| 1969 | Casón del Buen Retiro | Madrid | El Modernismo en España |
| 1970 | Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art | Barcelona | El Modernismo en España |
| 1978 | Princeton University Art Museum | Princeton | Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900 |
| 1978 | Smithsonian Institution | Washington, D.C. | Els Quatre Gats. Art in Barcelona around 1900 |
| 1979 | Palazzo Medici Riccardi | Florence | Picasso e dintorni. I Quattro Gatti. Il Modernismo catalano |
| 1980 | Palacio de Velázquez | Madrid | Cien años de cultura catalana 1880–1980 |
| 1981–1982 | Saló del Tinell | Barcelona | Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 |
| 1982 | Museum of Modern Art, Madrid | Madrid | Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 |
| 1982 | Museu Picasso | Barcelona | Picasso i Barcelona 1881–1981 |
| 1982 | Palau de la Virreina | Barcelona | Exposicion Ramon Casas |
| 1983 | Barcelona Museum of Modern Art | Barcelona | Els Autoretrats del Museu d'Art Modern |
| 1984 | Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux | Bordeaux | 50 ans d'art espagnol 1880–1936 |
| 1985–1986 | Hayward Gallery | London | Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 |
| 1987 | Palau de la Virreina | Barcelona | Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 |
| 1987 | The Prefectural Museum of Modern Art | Kobe | Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 |
| 1987 | The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura | Kamakura | Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 |
| 1987 | Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu | Gifu | Homage to Barcelona. The city and its art 1888–1936 |
| 1990–1991 | Barcelona Museum of Modern Art | Barcelona | El Modernisme |
| 1992 | Palau Robert | Barcelona | Art i esport a Catalunya |
| 1995–1996 | Museu Picasso | Barcelona | Picasso i els 4 Gats. La clau de la modernitat |
| 2001 | National Art Museum of Catalonia | Barcelona | Ramon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme |
| 2001 | Mapfre Vida Cultural Foundation | Madrid | Ramon Casas. El pintor del moderinsme |
| 2001 | Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais | Paris | Paris Barcelone de Gaudi a Miró |
| 2002 | Museu Picasso | Barcelona | Paris Barcelona 1888–1937 |
| 2006–2007 | Cleveland Museum of Art | Cleveland | Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí |
| 2007 | Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York | Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miró, and Dalí |