‘Del modernisme a les avantguardes. Dibuixos de la col·lecció de la Fundación MAPFRE’
Exhibition : OF MODERNISM IN THE AVANT-GARDE DRAWINGS FROM THE MAPFRE COLLECTIONS
Dates : March 29 to June 23, 2019
Venue: Maricel Museum (Carrer de Fonollar s / núm, Sitges)
Price : € 10 (€ 5, reduced). Access to visit the museums of Cau Ferrat and Maricel
Guided tours : Every Tuesday until June 18: 15h (in English), 16h (in Spanish) and 17h (in Catalan). Price: € 5
Marià Fortuny, Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Picasso, Francis Picabia, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró are some of the names present in the exhibition From Modernisme to the Avant-garde. Drawings from the Mapfre collections, which opened on March 28 at the Maricel Museum and which is a complete radiography of the drawing scene at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, through some of the most prestigious and famous artists. The exhibition is curated by Ignasi Domènech, head of the Sitges Museum Collections and is jointly organized by the Sitges Heritage Consortium and the Mapfre Foundation. It can be seen until June 23.
From Modernism to the Avant-garde. Drawings from the Mapfre collections, a careful selection of 47 drawings from Mapfre collections. It is a splendid exhibit of 33 key artists from the 19th and 20th century, such as Marià Fortuny, Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Joaquín Sorolla, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Francis Picabia, Paul Klee, Joaquín Torres García, Juan Gris, Joaquim Sunyer, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí. All the works are part of the Mapfre collection, created in 1997 and one of the most prestigious private collections in Spain. The exhibition is exhibited on the ground floor of the Maricel Museum, which until a few weeks ago hosted the Maricel Centennial exhibition.
From Modernism to the Avant-garde. Drawings from the Mapfre collections are shown for the first time in Catalonia, but before it was exhibited at various museums, such as the Picasso Foundation (Malaga, 2001), the Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba (Havana, 2004) , the Cervantes Institute in New York (2004-2005), the National Museum of Art of Mexico (2007) or the Bass Museum of Art in Miami (2008), among others.
Drawing as a genre in its own right
Drawing has been, from the origins of the history of mankind, one of the inherent expressions to individuals, although throughout recent history, art collecting has not shown great interest in drawing in comparison with the attention received by painting. Drawing has served as an element of learning and education of the technical and aesthetic capacities of the creators and very often reflect, like any other support, the creative genius of authors. Since the nineteenth century with the birth of the modern artist, voluntarily detached from the tyranny of the market, the drawing has passed the field of private experimentation or design element of future proposals to become an artistic genre in its own right
The tour of the exhibition From Modernism to the Avant-garde. Drawings of the Mapfre collections begin with academic drawings by two artists such as Marià Fortuny and Joaquín Sorolla (still linked to the tradition but which show expressive qualities that go beyond the classic drawing taught at the academies of fine arts). Below are noucentista drawings such as the ones by Joaquim Sunyer or Enric Casanovas, who communicate with others such as those of Francis Picabia, Auguste Rodin or Egon Schiele.
The construction of a language of an abstract nature, of a geometric and analytical nature on the horizon of Cubism, is reflected by works by Joaquim Torres García, Rafael Barradas, Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes and Sonia Delaunay. The constructive sense of painting and its limits with sculpture can be seen in other drawings such as the collage of Alexander Archipenko or the Kurt Schwitters Miniature, with a Dadaist spirit. At the same time, there are works by Spanish artists working in Paris, such as Pablo Picasso or Juan Gris. The privileged presence of these artists in the French capital allowed them to come in contact with the gestation of the surrealist movement. Some of the authors present in the exhibit were active members of the group and essential figures of the movement, such as Salvador Dalí or Joan Miró.
The exhibition ends with the opening - after the Civil War - of new paths related to primitivism or pure forms such as those of Ángel Ferrant, who coexist with the beginnings of informalism as more gestural or material as is the case of the collage of Chillida that closes the exhibition.
The script of the exhibition
1 The tradition
The tour begins with drawings of academic nature by two artists such as Marià Fortuny and Joaquin Sorolla, still linked to the tradition but showing expressive qualities that go beyond the classic drawing taught at the fine arts academies-
2 Modernity
From 1900 until the Civil War, which marks a fracture in our cultural tradition, there were a whole series of transformations and a process of art renewal that came reinforced by the relationships that were established between Spanish and European artists. In this process, the image of women played a very important role and became the true protagonist of the modern world. We can see it in noucentista drawings by Joaquim Sunyer or Enric Casanovas, who are related to others such as those by Francis Picabia, Auguste Rodin or Egon Schiele.
3 The avant-garde spirit
The construction of a language of an abstract nature, of a geometric and analytical nature on the horizon of Cubism, is reflected by works by Joaquim Torres García, Rafael Barradas, Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes and Sonia Delaunay. The constructive sense of painting and its limits with sculpture can be seen in other drawings such as the collage of Alexander Archipenko or the Kurt Schwitters Miniature, with a Dadaist spirit. At the same, the exhibition shows works by Spanish artists who then worked in Paris, such as Pablo Picasso or Juan Gris.
4 Surrealism
The privileged presence of Spanish artists in Paris allowed them to come in contact with the gestation of the surrealist movement. Some of the authors present in the exhibition were active members of the group and essential figures of the movement. This is the case of Salvador Dalí or Joan Miró .
5 At the edge of the avant-garde
After the Civil War, the impulse of the avant-garde seems to be diluted and new paths related to primitivism or pure forms like those of Angel Ferrant, that coexist with the beginnings of informalism more gestural or material as is the case of the collage of Chillida that closes the exhibition.
The exhibited works
Marià Fortuny i Marçal
Self-portrait, circa 1864-1865
Fat pencil and charcoal pencil on paper
Joaquim Sorolla i Bastida
Untitled, 1881-1890
Fat pencil and charcoal pencil on paper
Edgar Degas
Two dancers , circa 1890
Coal and red pencil on tracing paper
Edward Burne-Jones
Portrait of a young woman, possibly Maria Zambaco , 1874
Pencil on paper
Egon Schiele
Sleeping young girl , 1909
Graphite pencil, watercolor and pastel on paper
Auguste Rodin
Seated figure on a yellow background , 1896-1899
Drawing on graphite pencil and watercolor on paper glued on cardboard
Auguste Rodin
Woman painted from the back, with green shawl , around 1900
Lead mine and watercolor on paper
Pablo Ruiz Picasso
Maternity , 1902-1903
Chinese ink on paper
Isidre Nonell i Monturiol
Seated woman , 1906
Fat and colored pencil on laid paper
Xavier Gosé
Characters, circa 1900
Fat pencil and cake on brown card
Manolo Martínez Hugué
Figure painted from back , circa 1924
Graphite pencil, watercolor and Chinese ink on paper
Enric Casanovas and Roy
Maternity , circa 1920-1925
Chinese ink on paper
Celso Lagar
Bullfight, 1937
Pastel and fat pencil on paper
Celso Lagar
Supported , around 1916-1920
Graphite pencil and watercolor on paper
Joaquim Sunyer i Miró
Pastoral , 1918
Oil and tempera on paper
George Grosz
One afternoon in Berlin , 1929
Watercolor, graphite pencil and ink on paper
Henri Matisse
Nude sitting in the studio , 1926
Graphite pencil and Chinese ink on paper
Henri Matisse
Woman with an agenda , 1944
Chinese ink on paper
Pablo Ruiz Picasso
Mademoiselle Léonie (Study), 1910
Crayon and Chinese ink on paper
André Lhote
Bacant , 1910
Graphite pencil on paper
Alexander Archipenko
Collage No. 2 , 1913
Paul Klee
Young palm tree , 1929
Graphite pencil and watercolor on paper
Pablo Ruiz Picasso
Untitled / Harlequin and Putxinel·li, 1924
Tempera on paper
Rafael Barradas
Gypsies , 1917
Tempera on cardboard
Lyonel Feininger
Deep , 1932
Watercolor, graphite pencil and ink on paper
Rafael Barradas
Coffee , 1920
Chinese ink on paper
Albert Gleizes
New York , 1916
Tempera, watercolour and ink on paper
Albert Gleizes
Spanish dancer , 1916
Tempera on paper
Joaquín Torres-García
Building art , 1938
Chinese ink and graphite pencil on paper
Joaquín Torres-García
Constructive with railroad, 1930
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Joaquín Torres-García
Girl from New York, 1920
Tempera on paper
Francis Picabia
Spanish woman / Woman with comb , 1922
Graphite pencil and watercolour on paper
Juan Gris
Guitar, book and newspaper , 1920
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Juan Gris
Portrait of Paul Dermée, 1925
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Juan Gris
The guitarist , circa 1925-1926
Graphite pencil on paper
Kurt Schwitters
Untitled / Merz miniature , 1920
Collage on paper
Salvador Dalí i Domènech
Woman , 1923
Graphite pencil on paper
Salvador Dalí i Domènech
Mental solitude , 1932
Ink on paper
Salvador Dalí i Domènech
Aesthetic war , 1943
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Maruja Mallo
Stamp , 1928
Color pencils on paper
Benjamin Palencia
Seated figure , circa 1934
Graphite pencil, ink and watercolor on paper
Joan Miró i Ferrà
Composition , 1930
Graphite pencil on paper
Joan Miró i Ferrà
Battle of arrogants, 1934
Ink and pastel on Ingres pape
Joan Ponç
Onírico landscape with characters , 1947
Ink on card
Julio González
Untitled, 1940
Chinese ink and watercolor on paper
Ángel Ferrant
Untitled / Composition , circa 1950-1955
Graphite pen, ink and tempera on paper
Eduardo Chillida
Untitled, 1960
Collage on paper