Maria Girona i Benet

Maria Girona i Benet (1923, Barcelone - 2015, Barcelone) was a Catalan painter and engraver, daughter of the architect Lluis Girona.Student of her uncle Rafael Benet at the Academia Tárrega, she participates in exhibitions with the Els Vuit group where she meets Albert Ràfols-Casamada whom she marries in 1952, followed by numerous personal exhibitions in Barcelona and in Madrid. She also participates in the October and May salons of Barcelona.

She has been lecturer at the Eina design school since 1972. Her style reminds of the coloured fauvism of Henri Matisse. She paints simple images and smooth and lyrical forms. In the 1970's, she explores the technique of collage and creates a suite of artworks with naive decorative elements and old-fashioned accents. In 1998, she was decorated with the Creu de Sant Jordi by the government of Catalonia.

Maria Girona dies on March 8, 2015 in Barcelona at the age of 92.