A very unusual and particular work within Isidre Nonell’s catalogue, Soleil Matinal (Morning Sun) is a canvas from the painter’s first period, when he was only twenty-four years old. The young artist, following lead of the Catalan naturalists such as Santiago Rusiñol and Joaquim Vayreda, painted landscapes. At that time, in Barcelona, he was known for his modernity, although his work did not have much in common with the painters of the immediately previous generation.

Having adopted the luminist style of the Escuela de Sitges (Sitges School), Nonell progressed to yellowish suburban visions of Barcelona. At this early stage of his artistic career, unhappy with the academicism of the schools and painting academies he had attended, Nonell organised regular outings with his friends Canals, Vallmitjana, Pichot and Mir to the outskirts of the city in search of unspoiled landscapes to paint from life, in particular frequenting the area of Sant Martí de Provençals. With them, Nonell founded a group called ‘Colla de Sant Martí’ (Sant Martí group), better known as ‘Colla del Safrà’ (Saffron group), with reference to the saffron yellow colour they employed in their works.