The works carried out for the old Brisamar swimming pool, were based on mythological themes allegorical of body care and the exaltation of beauty, and in line with the purpose for which the building served. Neptune, the Roman deity of water and the sea, is the subject of the first mosaic and the association is clearly a link to the mineral-medicinal waters present in Coma-ruga that were used in the swimming pool. Neptune is accompanied by his wife Salacia, who represents beauty and salt water. Apollo is the god with knowledge of the art of healing and purifying bodies and the therapeutic properties of hot springs. Apollo was the Greek sun god of light and heat and as such symbolized the privileged climate that Coma-ruga enjoys. Finally, the Garden of the Hesperides symbolizes paradise, beauty and immortality. Here the classical Greek ideals of aesthetics and beauty are observed by the artist, who creates well-proportioned and athletic bodies, but who, in a bid to gain depth and movement in the composition, breaks with the archaic and rigid frontal perspective.

The work of the old Balneari Brisamar (Brisamar Spa) consists of two mosaics. Water is the element represented on the left side by the waves and fish. The earth is represented in brown tones at the bottom of the work. The artist incorporated two extinct species of fossils, an ammonite and a trilobite, which could be a reference to the Creation. Flames of fire and the sun appear in the mosaic on the right-hand side while air is represented at the top of the mosaic by the blue colour of the sky and the flight of birds. Given that the building was located next to the source of thermal waters, the artist could have used the theme of the four natural elements to explain by analogy the origin of Coma-ruga.

Did you know that…?

The iconography of the constituent elements of the universe is a recurring theme in the artist’s work. In fact, in the pool mosaic, the three scenes can be interpreted as a representation of the elements of nature. The one on the left, water; the one in the centre, air, and the one on the right, earth.