Book Description
Catalan modernismo, a cultural and artistic style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was the Spanish equivalent of the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Noveau, the German Werkbund and the Viennese Secession. The common denominator of these movements was the ambition to develop a new concept of beauty based on the creative essence of humankind. This comprehensive study, containing a wealth of information not previously available in English, focuses on all aspects of modernismo. Insightful essays discuss the geographic focus of modernismo, Catalonia and its vibrant capital city, Barcelona, and the historic and social context. Architecture was greatly influenced by modernismo, and various practitioners—Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch—developed personal styles based on patterns inspired by nature. Painting, sculpture, and music were equally affected by the times, moving away from academicism and toward spontaneous and personal creative impulses. All essays are extensively illustrated with spectacular color photographs, showing modernismo's most important buildings, such as Gaudí's Sagrada Familia and Palau Güell; intricate furniture, stained glass, and jewelry; graphic design, notably periodicals and sheet music; and a portfolio of paintings.
From the Publisher
Borja de Riquer i Permanyer is a professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Like the other authors, he has written extensively on the period of modernismo in Spain.
Modernismo: Architecture and Design in Spain FROM THE CRITICS
The New York Times
This more comprehensive survey of Gaudi and his wildly experimental contemporaries -- with tongue-twisting names unfamiliar even to some specialists, like Joan Hervas Arizmendi, Juli Batllevell i Arus, and Lluis Muncunill i Parellada -- is extraordinary by any standard. The art direction, regrettably uncredited, dramatically captures the extravagant eruptions of fantasy that made Modernismo the most outre of the diverse international approaches to the free style of circa 1900.
— Martin Filler
Library Journal
With 350 excellent color illustrations, many of works not commonly seen, Modernismo is a large volume of essays by leading Catalan academic experts on the indigenous efflorescence of the arts that took place in Barcelona and Catalonia in the decades before and after 1900. Gaudi is of course well known, but the many contemporary architects, artists, and craftsmen who made up the incredibly rich fabric of artistic life in Catalonia may not be as familiar (a few were new to this reviewer). Although there is some overlap among the essays, they do provide a thoughtful mosaic, and the translations are usually accessible. Modernismo is the English-language version of Modernisme i modernistes (Barcelona, Lunewerg, 2001), which in fact was issued with a supplemental English translation of the texts. It covers much of what was first presented in English in Homage to Barcelona (London, Hayward Gallery, 1985) but with better and more current illustrations and a somewhat broader geographical reach beyond Barcelona and its immediate environs. Antoni Gaudi, by the late Sola-Morales (1934-2001), is an unchanged reissue of his 1984 book, Gaudi (Rizzoli), but with much-improved recent photography by Vargas (128 color photos) and an updated brief bibliography. It is still one of the most thoughtful overviews of the Catalan architect and is an optional purchase for libraries holding the earlier edition or for those with Rainer Zerbst's Gaudi (Taschen). Modernismo, on the other hand, is highly recommended for general collections and all art/architecture collections.-Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
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