VilaWeb - Diari escola: The Works of Pau Gargallo in Barcelona

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dissabte, 20 d'abril de 2024

> Modernist Beginnings

> Classicism and the Avant-Garde

> 'The Prophet'

dijous, 2 de novembre de 2006

Tuesday 31 October sees the opening of the 'Gargallo' exhibition, focusing on the work of Pau Gargallo (1881-1934), one of the country's most remarkable sculptors and a key figure in the development of contemporary sculpture in the previous century. The exhibition, organised by the Caixa Catalunya Foundation, can be seen at the exhibitions room at La Pedrera building in Barcelona. The exhibition, which is free, runs until 28 January 2007.

'Gargallo' includes more than 100 of the artist's pieces sent from Barcelona and Zaragoza, from about 20 museums and collections from elsewhere in the Catalan Countries and also from overseas: Ribesaltes, Ceret , Belgium, Grenoble, Madrid, New York, Switzerland, etc.

The idea behind the exhibition is to illustrate two mutually-enriching artistic tendencies which greatly influenced Gargallo's work: tradition and Modernism, and Classicism and the Avant-Garde with the latter serving as a central axis for the exhibition that puts the spotlight on the sculptors work during the 1920s and 1930s.

Gargallo's daughter, Pierrette Gargallo, has acted as an advisor to the exhibition, which also includes itineraries that look at Gargallo's work in Barcelona. Mention must also be made of the 'Sculptor's Workshop', an activity workshop aimed at children between six and twelve that takes place on Sundays between 5 November and 3 December inclusive.

+ Webs relacionades dins Nosaltres.Cat: Pintura i escultura.

Modernist Beginnings

+ Gargallo worked on sculptures for the Palau de la Música Catalana.

Born in 1881 in Maella in region of Matarranya in La Franja de Ponent (a Catalan-speaking part in Aragon), Pau Gargallo moved with his parents to Barcelona when he was very young. His artistic training started in the Catalan capital when he worked as an apprentice in the workshop of the modernist sculptor Eusebi Arnau. Around 1900 he started to frequent a part of Barcelona known as Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats), a place where modernist ideas were talked about. It was there that he got to know and became friends with artists such as Pablo Picasso, Isidre Nonell and Manolo Hugué. After a first stay in Paris he returned to Barcelona and worked on sculptures for two masterpieces of Catalan modernism: the Sant Pau de Barcelona Hospital and the Palau de la Música Catalana, both of which have been declared World Heritage Sites.

Classicism and the Avant-Garde

+ 'Kiki of Montparnasse' (1928).

In Catalonia at the turn of the 20th century, a new artistic movement was taking over from Modernism: Noucentisme. Art (and other forms of cultural expression) from the Noucentista movement, which took its inspiration from the classics and the great Greco-Roman masters, would influence Gargallo's sculptures for the rest of his life. However, the artist from Maella was also very interested in Avant-Gardism that was beginning to take hold (in particular Cubism), something which was encouraged by Gargallo's sojourns in the international capital of art: Paris, where he stayed for good from 1924 onwards. His innovative spirit shines through in his use of underestimated materials (such as iron, copper, lead and brass) and the void as a form of expression.

'The Prophet'

+ 'The Prophet' was sculptured in 1933.

As we mentioned above, both Classicism and Avant-Gardism come through in Gargallo's work as parallel influences which can be seen in his numerous masks and figures of harlequins, ballerinas and violinists.The culmination of this synthesis and its definitive symbol is 'The Prophet' which he sculptured in 1933. Standing 2.35 m high, Gargallo dedicated much of his life to the work. Sketches of the sculpture dating back to 1904 have been found.

MATERIALS

Fundació Caixa Catalunya
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Organitzadora de l'exposició 'Gargallo'.
Pau Gargallo
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Remarca de la seva trajectòria, acompanyada de tres peces. Al Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
Pau Gargallo Catalán
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Imatges de l'obra ornamental feta per Gargallo a l'hospital de Sant Pau de Barcelona.
'El profeta' de Gargallo
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Anàlisi de l'obra mestra de l'escultor franjolí, esbós biogràfic inclòs.
Pablo Gargallo
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Recursos en línia.
Escultura
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De tots els temps i estils. A artsdidactica.galeria, espai de difusió escolar i acadèmica de l'art.
Escultura
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A la pàgina didàctica Conèixer l'Art.

QUE HO SABIES?

In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Pau Gargallo had to sell a drawing by Picasso in order to buy train tickets from Paris to Barcelona with his wife Magali. But the very same day, Picasso presented him with another as a gift.
The following year, Gargallo produced one of his more celebrated pieces: a portrait of Picasso done in terracotta and kept in the Ceret Museum of Modern Art in the region of Vallespir.
Gargallo is not the only sculptor to have used iron; it was also worked by another great Catalan avant-garde sculptor, Juli González.