Skip to main content

Josep Llimona Biography

Josep Llimona

(Barcelona, ​​1864-id., 1934) Spanish sculptor.He frequented the workshop of Frederic Trías and completed his studies at the Escuela de la Llotja.In 1880 he went to Rome on a scholarship from the Barcelona City Council.With the works he carried out in Rome, among others a sketch for the equestrian statue of Ramón Berenguer el Grande, he has already achieved awards and a great reputation.Since his return to Barcelona, ​​the orders and the realizations were constant.After a period dominated by religious themes ( First Communion , 1897), he turned to the female nude, a field in which some of his masterpieces are inscribed ( Desconsolation , Youth ).In other works, such as The Forger , the tenderness of the nudes gives way to a contained aggressiveness.He is also owed, among many other creations, the monument to Dr.Robert and the Risen Christ of Montserrat.

Josep Llimona

Hermano del painter Joan Llimona, also his sons María and Rafael would be artists, dedicated respectively to sculpture and painting.Josep Llimona began his training in Federico Trías's workshop and at the age of fourteen he entered the School of Fine Arts of La Llotja in Barcelona, ​​where he studied painting with Martí Alsina and sculpture with the Valimitjana brothers and Nobas.The Barcelona City Council granted him the Fortuny pension in 1880 to further his training in Rome, a city where he frequented Enric Serra's workshop, attended the Gigi Academy and received the influence of the four-century sculpture (especially by Donatello) more than properly that of the classical one, along with certain medieval echoes.

During his first Roman year he made the sketches for the equestrian sculpture of Ramón Berenguer III el Grande, which earned him the extension of the scholarship for one more year.He then modeled the work and presented it at the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888.The reliefs that he sculpted for the monument to Christopher Columbus in the port of Barcelona (1886) also correspond to the stage immediately after his stay in Rome.commission of the Universal Exhibition, a statue of Ramón Berenguer el Viejo and the frieze of the Arc de Triomphe.

Shortly after, in 1892, Josep Llimona founded with his brother Joan the Artistic Circle of Sant Lluc, of which he was president from 1898 to 1902.To the Catholic and moralistic ideology of the Circle correspond works of religious themes such as the Virgen del Rosario (1892), Consumatum est (1896, Montserrat) and The First Communion (1897, Barcelona, ​​Museum of Modern Art ).

The First Communion (1897)

Despite its narrative nature and still being in the line of Eighteenth-century sculpture, these works correspond to a stage in which Llimona felt an increasing attraction to the so-called "modernity".Indeed, since 1891, with his female head titled Modestia , Llimona's interest in modernist aesthetics was revealed, perhaps due to the influence of the sculptor Miguel Blay Fábregas, but surely also as a result of the trips made to Paris and throughout Europe since that year.Such trips led him to get in touch, in the early years of the 20th century, with artists who represented the overcoming of detail and the eight-century mannerism, such as Auguste Rodin, Constantin Meunier or Paul Albert Bartholomé; Likewise, they led him to learn about and follow a line of search in classical Greek sculpture of forms, volumes and an aura of serenity that allowed him to connect with the artistic ideas of Aristide Maillol and Manolo Hugué.

Modesty (1891)

In 1901, following the death of his wife, the introvert character that had always characterized him seemed to intensify; Along with that introversion then increased, his Catholicism accentuated the concern to reflect physical and moral pain, which he dealt with in a series of female figures, many of them naked, which became a frequent theme of his sculptural production.In this conjunction of the preoccupation with the volumetric modeling of the bodies, the personal crisis and the interest in the treatment of the female body, his work Desconsolation (1903) originates, preserved in later replicas, from 1907, in the museum of Modern Art in Barcelona and in the Casón del Buen Retiro in Madrid.Influenced by Rodin's Danaide , this sculpture must already be described as fully modernist and reaches the highest quality within the aforementioned female nudes in which pain is reflected, intensely but serenely.The sensuality and refinement in the representation of the female body demonstrate an unusual virtuosity in marble work and an impressive ability to convey the state of mind in a contained way.

Desconsolation (1903), by Josep Llimona

Responding to an eclectic modernism and as a result of inspiration from Rodin's epic sentiment and from the realism of Meunier's figures, Llimona made a monument in honor of Dr.Robert (1903-1910), a work on a social theme, realistic and at the same time fully idealistic in its allegorical exaltation of the work, arts and letters of the Catalan people.

In the decade of the ten and the twenties, Llimona continued with his series of female nudes, characterized by their soft and delicate invoice, with an approach to the figure similar to that of his productions of the previous decade , despite which, with his attitude of restraint and serenity, he managed to connect with the movement that prevailed at that time, the Noucentisme.Examples of this are sculptures such as Youth (1913, Museum of Modern Art of Barcelona), Meditation (1917), Beauty (1924) and Cordelia (1930).

Another of the frequent themes in Llimona's work, and in the same field of body modeling, is that of male figures.In them an omnipresent serenity seemed to guide the sculptor in order to calm the possible aggressiveness that reigned in the muscular male bodies; This is how it is seen in El forjador (1914), the equestrian Sant Jordi of the Montjuïc Park (1924) or the monument to the Martyrs of Independence (1925).

Funerary statues of Josep Llimona in Comillas and Cadaqués cemeteries

He did not stop cultivating throughout his life the sculpture of religious themes, as shown by the numerous funerary monuments that he made for aristocratic or upper bourgeois families: the Maristany, counts of Lavern, in El Masnou (Barcelona), the Mundet de Arenys de Mar (Barcelona), the Rialp from Barcelona, ​​Robert from Sitges (Barcelona), Satrústegui from San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa), Santiago López de Comillas (Santander) and Berjano from Cáceres.Other notable religious works are the Burial of Christ made for the parish of Vilafranca del Penedès (Barcelona), the Risen Christ (1914, basilica of Montserrat), commissioned by the Bishop of Vic, Josep Torras i Bages, or the Calvario for the cemetery of Portugalete (Vizcaya), commissioned by the Marquis of Comillas.Included in the works on pious themes are also some of his allegorical sculptural groups such as Amor a la infantil (Escuela del Bosque, Barcelona).

In 1931, Josep Llimona was appointed president of the Barcelona Museum Board, a position from which he sought to encourage the renewal of Barcelona's artistic and cultural life, having already become one of the modernist sculptors himself most prominent and influential in Catalan artistic life in the first third of the 20th century.His career included innumerable exhibitions in Spain and Europe and had been recognized with international awards; For his equestrian statue of Ramón Berenguer el Grande, he received the gold medal of the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona in 1888, and Disconsolation deserved the honor prize of the International Exhibition of Fine Arts (1907).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elijah Querejeta Biography

Elías Querejeta (Elías Querejeta Gárate; Hernani, 1930-Madrid, 2013) Spanish film producer.He studied chemistry and law, while at the same time he was part of the Real Sociedad de San Sebastián football team, a career he abandoned at the age of 24.He was a regular at the screenings held by the city's film clubs, where he met other young people-Víctor Erice, Antonio Eceiza-who would study at the Official Film School of Madrid. Elías Querejeta In 1961 he founded his first company, Laponia Films, at the same time that he collaborated with other production companies on his first films.After directing several short films, in 1964 he decided to found Elías Querejeta P.C.From his first films, he defined the style he wanted to print in his works, intervening in almost all of them as co-screenwriter, while gathering around him a group of professionals who would guarantee the finish of each film (Luis Cuadrado and Teo Escamilla as directors photography; Primitivo Álvaro, in the produc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Armillita Chico Biography

Armillita Chico (Nickname of Fermín Espinosa Saucedo; Saltillo, 1911-Mexico City, 1975) Mexican bullfighter.He inherited the nickname from his father, the bullfighter and banderillero from Zacatecas Fermín Espinosa.He was the brother of two banderilleros, Cenaido and José, and of another great bullfighter, Juan Espinosa Saucedo ("Armillita"); Furthermore, he was the father of three other alternative killers: Fermín, Manuel and Miguel Espinosa Menéndez. In 1927 he received the alternative from Antonio Posada Carnerero.Consecrated as a figure of bullfighting in his country, he chose to cross the Atlantic.Already at that time his brother Juan Espinosa Saucedo was on Hispanic soil, who agreed to sponsor the young Fermín in his forced alternative in Spain, which took place in 1928 in the Monumental bullring of Barcelona.He confirmed the alternative on May 10, 1928, sponsored by Manuel Jiménez Moreno ("Chicuelo"). Soon contracts began to rain in the main Spanish sq...
Post a Comment
Read more

Asdrúbal Giscón Biography

Asdrúbal Giscón (ss.II-III) Carthaginian military.Son of Giscón.In the Iberian peninsula, he helped the barquidas in their fights with the Romans.In 212 he defeated Publio Escipión near Cástulo (Cazlona).Defeated in Africa by Publius Cornelius Scipio (203), he was removed from command.
Post a Comment
Read more

Jorge Bessières Biography

Jorge Bessières (?, 1780-Molina de Aragón, 1825) French adventurer.In the War of Independence he deserted the French army and joined the Spanish.In 1822 he participated in the republican uprising in Barcelona, ​​but soon he went over to the absolutist side and was appointed field marshal.In 1825 he led an ultra-realistic uprising.He was shot.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Holy Alliance and the Congress of Vienna

It is time to go a little deeper into the Holy Alliance and the Congress of Vienna .Want to know what were the objectives of the Vienna Congress of 1815? What is the Holy Alliance? What were the most important points of the Congress of Vienna? What are the countries that make up the Holy Alliance? What were the most relevant points of the Congress of Vienna and the Holy Alliance? Well, if you want to discover all this, do not miss all this information in About History.Coge pencil and paper that we started already. Article index What is the Holy Alliance? Many of you will be wondering what the Holy Alliance is, for what goes the explanation.In September 1815, after the end of the Vienna Congress, the Holy Alliance meant the signing of a pact through the initiative of the Russian Tsar Alexander I, Francisco I of Austria and Frederick William III of Prussia.The Vienna Congress took place in the Austrian capital and said international meeting was held after the defeat of Napoleon ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alvaro Mutis Biography

Álvaro Mutis (Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo; Bogotá, Colombia, 1923-Mexico City, 2013) Colombian writer and poet.Author noted for the verbal richness of his production and a characteristic combination of lyrical and narrative, he participated in the early days of the movement of poets grouped around the magazine Mito.Influenced by Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Saint-John Perse and Walt Whitman, he used poetry as a means of knowledge to access unknown universes, to new worlds where love and a good death were possible.His alter ego is Maqroll, a shadowy yet innocent adventurer who sings of the fragile human condition.His work was recognized with such prestigious awards as the Prince of Asturias (1997) and the Cervantes Prize (2001). Álvaro Mutis Son of international lawyer Santiago Mutis Dávila and Carolina Jaramillo, in 1925 his father entered the diplomatic service and the family had to move to Brussels, where the head of the family had been appointed minister counselor.In Belgium his bro...
Post a Comment
Read more

Space, change and permanence ... elements to understand history

In some of our latest articles we have analyzed different aspects of knowledge construction historical .In the latter post we have to reflect on the historical categories of " space ", " change " and " permanence " and its importance to sharpen our understanding of the history . Old Map of Colonia del Sacramento , disputed by Portuguese and Spanish for its strategic location in the Rio de la Plata As we know the History studies human societies in the past .Y of course, these societies lived in a territory ( space ) in particular, so whenever we start studying a society of the past we must place it in space and time. The space is a very important aspect e to study the History. Each territory has its own characteristics that can be decisive for understanding many aspects of a society .For example: what economic production does it do, trade routes, the distribution of the population, the strategies in wars, etc.In addition, soc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Egon Eiermann Biography

Egon Eiermann (Neuendorf, 1904-Baden-Baden, 1970) German architect.He was a disciple of H.Poelzig and was influenced by Mies van der Rohe.He brought the rationalist tradition to the utmost technological and functional refinement (Blumberg handkerchief factory, Merkur department store in Stuttgart).
Post a Comment
Read more

Guillermo Cabrera Infante Biography

Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Gibara, Cuba, 1929) Cuban writer, nationalized British.In 1951 he founded the Cuban Cinematheque, of which he was director until General Batista ordered its closure, a work that he combined with his articles on film criticism for the magazine Carteles, which he published under the pseudonym G.Caín (1954-1960).He also directed the literary magazine Monday of Revolution, banned in 1961 by Castro.In 1966 he published his first renowned novel, Tres tristes tigres, whose experimental nature lies in the ingenious use of language in its most colloquial register and the constant play of winks and references to other literary works.He was a diplomat in Brussels, until he definitively broke with the Castro regime and settled in London.He has written other outstanding novels, such as Vista delmanecer en el tropico (1974), Exorcismos de esti (l) o (1976) and essays such as Vidas para leerlas (1998).In 1998 he received the Cervantes Prize.
Post a Comment
Read more

Emilio Oribe Biography

Emilio Oribe (Melo, 1893-1975) Uruguayan poet and philosopher.In addition to his philosophical essays, he developed a lyrical work that starts from the postulates of modernism and drifts towards a more classical line.He was professor of aesthetics at the University of Montevideo. His philosophical thought focuses on the conditions and possibilities of this metaphysical meditation, in the incessant inquiry about the being of poetry, which postulates a wealth of eidetic insights on the great eternal themes.The earth and the flow towards death attract and repel him at the same time.Heir to the culturalism of J.E.Rodó, he enriched it with a certain teaching style and rigor and with a greater hierarchy and universality. Oribe represents the movement of going "towards the sources", going back beyond the philosophers and vulgarizers of the 19th century in search of the authors who founded classical thought in metaphysics, logic, morality and aesthetics.Figures such as Goethe ...
Post a Comment
Read more