It was during this period that he had his first exhibit at the Sala Parés. He also provided decorations for the Teatre Principal. He also displayed some minor works at the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition and took a brief study trip to Paris, where he absorbed some of the new influences entering the art world at that time. He returned to Paris in 1890 and enrolled at the Académie Julian, where he studied with Henri Chapu. After returning to Barcelona, he began participating in a wide variety of exhibitions, including the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His modernist tendencies first expressed themselves during this period.