One day he came to see me. He timidly told me what he wanted. When I spoke of his painting, I noticed that his eyes lit up. What I will say may seem overly romantic but the truth is that I then had the impression that Nadal was, or could be, an artist. Now, seeing his paintings, I know that my first impression was right. Nadal is an artist. The study of the classics was an essential part of Nadal’s training. The balance and conception of many paintings –I mean the portraits, not the landscapes– gives it away. Nadal built his paintings on a classical foundation. But nor has he ignored any of the teachings that modern painters have provided. So the work of the young painter, like those of some of our best portrait artists, is a certain ambitious synthesis of two conceptions of paintings.

And to keep everything positive let’s avoid talking about the landscapes. But we insist on the extraordinary value of his portraits. The figures marked by the numbers 13 and 14 are two clear examples that the winds of fame have just launched this young artist who goes by the name of Nadal.

La Vanguardia (Barcelona – 1944)