Ramon Costa Nolla. Charcoal drawing on paper "Female Portrait". Early 20th century. Unsigned. With a drawing of a female nude behind it. With signs of age. 47 x 29 cm. It has a tape mark on the upper side of the drawing. There is handwriting by the painter, draftsman, and artist.
Ramon Costa Nolla (Reus, July 18, 1877 - Barcelona, 1952) was a Catalan painter and draftsman.
He showed a passion for drawing from a very young age, and in 1887, at the age of 10, he began Artworking in the studio of Domènec Soberano, and shortly afterward with the painter Aleix Clapés, who then had a drawing school in Reus. After moving to Barcelona, he painted landscapes, which he exhibited twice, but specialized in pen and ink drawings. At 23, he was hired by the Seguí publishing house to illustrate its unfinished encyclopedia, collaborating with Odón de Buen. He Artworked for other publishing houses, alternating drawing with oil painting. Around 1920, he joined the F.D.T. publishing house founded by the Marists (which in 1932 was renamed Editorial Luis Vives). He lived somewhat apart from the artistic movements of his time and devoted himself almost exclusively to editorial illustration.
His studio had a very extensive graphic archive. Among other Artworks, he illustrated, in addition to various encyclopedias, El Cielo (The Sky), by the astronomer Comas i Solà; Arte y Monumentos (Art and Monuments), with texts by J. Rodergas i Calmell; Itinerario artista: Cataluña (Artistic Itinerary: Catalonia), with texts by Josep Francesc Ràfols; and 24 volumes of a collection from the Hernando publishing house in Madrid, entitled "La riqueza en la mano" (Wealth in the Hand), which dealt with animal husbandry and agriculture. He signed most of his Artworks with the initials R.C.
In his youth, he contributed to the Reus newspapers Reus Artístich and L’Escut de Reus. His paintings were exhibited in Reus and Barcelona, and in 1914 he won first prize for drawing in a competition organized by the Catalan Association of Gràcia. He retired from professional activity in 1940. He died in Barcelona in 1952.
