Modest Urgell (1839-1919) was a Spanish Catalan painter, illustrator, and playwright of comedies. He was educated at the Llotja School, in Barcelona, with Ramon Marte i Alsina and knew Gustave Courbet after a visit to Paris. Though he painted portraits, his prolific body of work is dominated by Neo-romantic landscapes, such as Fields of Loneliness (Campos de Soledad) (1894). He also acted and wrote such works for the theatre as Far from the Eyes, Close to the Heart (Lejos de los Ojos, Cerca del Corazon) (1898).
In 1910 he taught at the School of Industrial and Fine Arts in Barcelona. Whilst he was there he worked with Josep Pasce and he taught the young Joan Miro.
