JOSEP LLIMONA BRUGUERA (Barcelona, 1864 - 1934). "Modèstia",... Lot 49

JOSEP LLIMONA BRUGUERA (Barcelona, 1864 - 1934). "Modèstia", 1891. Sculpture in polychrome stucco. Signed. With Esteva & Cia. stamp. Work catalogued in "Una passejada per l'obra de Josep Llimona, 150 anys", MEAM, 2015, Barcelona, p. 104. Size: 42 x 36 x 22 cm. The sculpture "Modèstia" is evidence of Josep Llimona's most personal characteristics: naturalistic idealism, an inclination towards the gentle side of reality and, above all, a great delicacy and beauty in his female figures, always slender and innocent, enveloped in a veil of mystery. Josep Limona is remembered as the most important Catalan sculptor of Modernisme. Trained at the Escola de la Llotja in Barcelona, he obtained a pension to go to Rome in 1880. During his stay in Italy he was influenced by Florentine Renaissance sculpture. With the works he sent from there he already won prizes (gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona in 1888), as well as a great reputation. With his brother Joan he founded the Círculo Artístico de Sant Lluc, a Catalan artistic association of a religious nature (the two brothers were deep believers). By the mid-1990s his style was already drifting towards full modernism. He received the prize of honour at the International Exhibition of Fine Arts held in 1907 in Barcelona. From 1900 onwards he concentrated on his famous female nudes, and in 1914 he created, in collaboration with Gaudí, his impressive "Risen Christ". His artistic genius also manifested itself in large public monuments such as the equestrian statue of Saint George in Montjuic Park in Barcelona, as well as in works of funerary imagery, such as the pantheons he created for various cemeteries. In addition to exhibiting in Barcelona and other Catalan cities, he exhibited his work in Madrid, Brussels, Paris, Buenos Aires and Rosario (Argentina). He was president of the Barcelona Museum Board from 1918 to 1924, and again from 1931 until his death in 1934. Throughout his life he received numerous decorations, including those awarded by the French and Italian governments. He was also awarded the Gold Medal of the City of Barcelona in 1932, in recognition of his extraordinary work in the development of museum activity. Llimona's work can be found in the Monastery of Montserrat, the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Reina Sofia Museum, among others.