page_title: Francesc Miralles i Galaup
section_title: Return to Barcelona
hierarchical_section_title: Francesc Miralles i Galaup / Biography / Return to Barcelona
caption_attribution_description: Español: Escena de carrer en un dia de pluja (c. 1891)
context_page_description: Francesc Miralles i Galaup was a Catalan painter, best known for his realistic scenes of bourgeois life and high society.
context_section_description: He suffered from chronic bronchitis so, after his parents had died (within a year of each other), he decided to return to Barcelona, seeking a milder climate. His sister Carmen had already returned there years before, after her marriage, so he had no relatives left in Paris. Rumors, however, suggested that his real reason for leaving was that his paintings were going out of style. Whatever the reason, he arrived in Barcelona in 1893 and his home soon became a gathering place for the creative community. He continued to exhibit at the Salon in Paris, but never repeated his earlier successes. To help him re-establish himself, his brother-in-law, Salvador Andreu (a wealthy manufacturer and philanthropist), obtained a commission for him to decorate the ceiling of a new private concert hall at the Liceu.
  He had never truly gotten over the loss of his mother. By 1898, Carmen had become seriously concerned about his increasing isolation and worsening health. Salvador agreed that something should be done, so he persuaded Miralles to live in "The Towers", a small house next to theirs where he would have more company, but his health continued to decline. One day, they came to visit and found him lying in front of his easel, dead from an apparent heart attack.
caption: Street Scene on a Rainy Day (c.1891)
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