Apel·les Mestres and Ramon D. Perés: two hesitant modernists

Abstract

Apel·les Mestres and Ramon D. Perés are two of the most important names in early Catalan modernism. Their aesthetic ideas, closely bound up with naturalism and with a predilection for the lyrical genre, contribute to modernizing the literary panorama of the last decades of the 19^th century. However, they both turn out to be resistant to change while the new artistic currents are taking hold, and they do not share the most groundbreaking ideas. This article traces Perés’ critical opinions of Mestres’ literary output, which are always positive and establish a close relationship between them beyond the field of literature.