CERCLE 1

Themessagewas later reported in thepress 29 . At themeeting it was noted that theMarquess of Vega In- clánhadbeen replied to inkind 30 ; and Sorolla replied sim- ilarly 31, 32 . At the Board Meeting on the 13th of December it was agreed towrite toXavierGosé’smother, invitingher tovisit theexhibitionbefore it closed 33 . A few days later La Vanguardia noted that the exhibition was still popular and that a great number of works had beensold,mostnotably theacquisitionsby thekingand the BarcelonaandLleidaMuseumBoards 34 . On the 18th of December Gosé’smother replied to Carlos Vázquez’s letter invitingher toattend the closingof theex- hibition: she explained that due to her delicate health she wouldnot be able to attend, butwas grateful. Inher place, herbrother JoanRovira (a lawyerresident inLleida)would go.Rovirahadbeen thepointof contactwith theCircle, and his mother considered that he was better placed to carry out the settlement andanythingelse that shecoulddoper- sonally 35 . GivenMorera’sconference, theclosingof theexhibitionwas delayeduntil the31st ofDecember1915. THECONFERENCE On the30thofDecemberat10atnight, theLleidapoetMagí MoreraGalíciagavea conference inCatalanonXavierGosé onhispersonalityandwork in theexhibitionhall. Together with himwas Narcís Oller, the president of the Circle and othermembers of the Governing Board. The speaker gave an excellent study of the artist, remembering his triumph at theElsQuatreGatsexhibition,wherehehadrevealedhis personality and his trip to Paris, of what he had achieved in that exhibition.He toldanecdotesofGosé’spersonal life, andspokeofhisquiet,melancholicandobservational char- acter, someonealways focussedon theirwork. Thespeaker thanked the Circle for having put together hisworks after hisdeath 36 . THEEXHIBITIONSETTLEMENT Joan Rovira –Gosé’s uncle–was unable to go to Barcelona to take charge of the artist’swork and to receive the funds from the exhibiton sales due to a bronchitis contracted at the beginning of February. In a letter dated the 21st of March, Gosé’smother explained toVázquez that herbroth- erwouldgo later, but sincehewas still to takehis time, she made themost of a trip to Barcelonamade by the bearer of the letter, Antoni Agelet Romeu. He was a relative of hers, lawyer andmayor of the city and a person of confi- dence who could, if they did not protest, settle the funds receivedup to then. They couldhandover the correspond- ingamountvia theirreceipt. If therewerestill charges tobe received, thesewould be settled later by her brother, who would also take charge of the pictures to be sent to Lleida andof theunsoldworks, requesting that theybekept inad- equateconditions 37 . FortunataRovira, her son’sbeneficiary, received the sumof 4000pesetason the21stofDecember1915, andon the21st ofMarch1916, signeda receipt for thequantityof 7138pe- setas and 30 cents, for the total amount received from the sale of the pictures and original drawings exhibited by the institution. In thedocument relating theacquisitions it isnoted that, on the 4th of February, the last noted acquisition, the running totalwas25,894pesetas 38 .█ < > Detall d'unaobrade l'exposició reproduïdaa lapremsa Detalledeunade las obrasexpuestasy repro- ducidaspor laprensa Anexhibitionpiece, reported in thepress. ©RCAB