An exceptional painting by this Catalan artist, who was well conversant with a wide range of painterly techniques and who, rather than falling sway to the influence of the contemporary avant-gardes, developed a highly personal style always within the confines of figuration.

In his early stages he relied heavily on well-defined drawing, which he later completed with masses of pigment applied with agile brushwork. However, during his time in Brazil in the late 1960s, the drawing of his landscapes became more diluted and ethereal, resulting in a looser, more vibrant image.

Similarly to many of his still-lifes and landscapes, in this Niña de la mandolin (Girl with a Mandolin) the central figure seems to be sunk in a mood of deep melancholia and prisoner to an immobility that freezes her in time. Mallol’s paintings always capture a quiet, nostalgic and somewhat tormented atmosphere.

To achieve a psychological individualisation of his characters, Mallol makes a careful study of the human figure. In this case we see a girl with almond-shaped eyes playing a mandolin in a thoughtful and serene attitude. Her left hand, which holds the head of the instrument, is not properly placed on the neck to fret the strings. Her forced posture would suggest an adopted, unnatural pose. Meanwhile, her right hand is well placed on the body, redolent of a more natural way of playing the instrument.

As far as the background is concerned, the girl appears to be standing in front of an open window with a blue sky beyond, framed by what could be curtains with motifs of volutes and flowers, which could well be allusive to the candelieri ornamentation so typical of the Italian Renaissance.