Eusebi Planas’s coup de grâce was the remarkable collection of studies of naked women, Academias de Mujer (Academy of Women), again produced in conjunction with the Barcelona lithographer Joan Aleu. It is at the same time the high point of both artistry and technical skill, and also a remarkable way of presenting the naked female body just within the bounds of contemporary decency. Planas and Aleu knew exactly what they were doing by displaying unclothed, very real, women in ‘artistic’ poses, and the Academias sold out within weeks of publication.

What happened to the portfolio later in Spanish history is indicative of its influence; during the Franco regime nearly all copies in public collections, together with many in private hands, were destroyed, to the extent that that no entire copy is preserved in any public library, except for the one in the Lambert Mata Library in Ripoll. This copy spent the entire Franco period locked in the library’s private vault. The fact that these portfolios are not found in public libraries, and almost never turn up for sale, tells us that despite their luxurious and well-subscribed publication they always remained hidden, another example of how legality and clandestinity are separated by a very fine line.