Escultures de la Plaça de Catalunya
Escultures de la Plaça de Catalunya is a group of sculptures created between 1927 and 1929 for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. Installed in Plaça de Catalunya, one of the city’s main hubs in the Eixample district, the ensemble was designed through a public competition held in 1927. The project called for 28 sculptures by artists including Eusebi Arnau, Joan Borrell, Enric Casanovas, Josep Clarà, Josep Dunyach, Jaume Duran, Pablo Gargallo, Josep Llimona, Frederic Marès, Enric Monjo, Vicenç Navarro, Llucià Oslé, Miquel Oslé, Jaume Otero, Antonio Parera, Josep Tenas, and Josep Viladomat. It is considered one of Barcelona’s largest public art ensembles and an open-air museum of sculpture.
© Carles Fargas · Public domain
© Ricardo Ricote Rodrí… · CC BY 3.0
Identification | |
| Title | Escultures de la Plaça de Catalunya |
| Type | Sculptural ensemble / group of public sculptures |
Location and ownership | |
| Location | Plaça de Catalunya, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
| District | Eixample (Ensanche) |
| Site context | Installed throughout Plaça de Catalunya, including a slightly raised terrace on the mountain side, an oval balustrade inside the square, niches and pedestals, and the southeast corner facing the Ramblas |
Physical characteristics | |
| Interior balustrade | Oval-shaped balustrade inside the square around the central mosaic and holm oaks |
| Terrace sculptures | Eight statues |
| Terrace | A terrace on the mountain side, slightly above the rest of the square, replacing Nebot's planned pavilion |
| Overall arrangement | A group of sculptures distributed around the square rather than a single standalone work |
| Area of square | 5 hectares |
Historical context | |
| Major works on the square | Completed in the 1920s in preparation for the International Exposition |
| Initial artists selected for the niches | Josep Llimona, Vicenç Navarro, Eusebi Arnau, Josep Tenas, Jaume Duran, Enric Monjo, Pablo Gargallo, Àngel Tarrach, Miquel Renart, Jaume Rebull, and Soto |
| Overall significance | The ensemble reflects the city's urban development and the artistic tensions around public nude sculpture in late 1920s Barcelona |
| Created | 1927–1929 |
| Public competition | A public competition was organized in 1927 to decorate the square |
| Impact of moral campaign on Los bueyes de la abundancia | Rejected for stylistic reasons, stored for a time, and now in the Parque de la España Industrial |
| Impact of moral campaign on Marinada | Marinada was moved to a more secluded place on Montjuïc, and Antonio Alsina ended up with no work in the square |
| Impact of moral campaign on La diosa | It was withdrawn for a few months and then returned |
| Moral campaign | Between November and December 1928, religious and parents' associations campaigned against the excessive nudity in the ensemble; artistic associations and a group of Catholic women defended nude art |
| Commission outside the competition | La diosa by Josep Clarà |
| Pavilion cancellation | In May 1929, eight of the sixteen statues planned for the pavilion were not installed there and were instead placed on a terrace replacing the pavilion |
| Urbanization of the square began | 1902 |
| Rejected niche works | Five niche works by the last five artists were rejected in March 1928 because of their marked stylistic difference from the rest of the square and replaced by works by Monjo, Marès, Otero, Parera, and Borrell |
| Initial artists selected for the pavilion statues | Josep Viladomat, Àngel Tarrach, Josep Clarà, Josep Llimona, Enric Casanovas, Josep Dunyach, Vicenç Navarro, Eusebi Arnau, and Pablo Gargallo |
| Initial artists selected for the provinces | Barcelona by Frederic Marès; Gerona by Antonio Parera; Lérida by Joan Borrell; Tarragona commissioned outside the competition to Jaume Otero |
| Planning and construction period | The square project was organized in 1923 and carried out between 1926 and 1929 |
| Initial architect selected for the square | Francesc Nebot, selected on 17 February 1925 |
| Associated urban project | Remodeling of Plaça de Catalunya in connection with the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition |
| Stylistic context | Part of the broader urban and artistic program linked to the 1929 Exposition, associated with the consolidation of Noucentisme and the introduction of rationalism and other international avant-garde trends in Barcelona |
| Created for | The 1929 Barcelona International Exposition |
| Jury | Municipal politicians and technicians, with representation from the city's main artistic institutions |
| Projects submitted | 90 |
| Original rejected idea | A pavilion with a colonnade decorated with female sculptures in the upper part of the square |
| Subsequent directors of the works | Joaquim Llansó, assisted by Josep Cabestany and Nicolás María Rubió Tudurí |
| Original selection for the square | Allegorical groups of Wisdom and Work by the Oslé brothers; three allegories of Catalan provinces; 16 stone statues for Nebot's pavilion; and 12 statues and reliefs for the square's niches |
Creator | |
| Nebot's team | Pere Domènech i Roura, Enric Catà, Eugenio Cendoya, Félix de Azúa, and Antoni Darder |
History and restoration | |
| Relocations from cancelled pavilion | Four sculptures by Eusebi Arnau, Josep Llimona, Enric Casanovas, and Àngel Tarrach were placed on the entrance wall of the Royal Palace of Pedralbes; Diosa by Josep Dunyach and La noche by Vicenç Navarro were installed in Parc de la Ciutadella; Fertilidad by Josep Clarà and La vendimiadora by Pablo Gargallo were installed in the Jardins de Miramar, Montjuïc |
| Addition of Monument to Francesc Macià | Installed next to La diosa in 1991 by Josep Maria Subirachs |
| Former terrace fountain | Niños cabalgando sobre peces by Frederic Marès |
| Reinstalled works | Lérida by Manuel Fuxá and Tarragona by Jaume Otero were installed on Avinguda Diagonal in front of the Royal Palace of Pedralbes |
| Marinada relocation | Marinada or Danzarina by Antonio Alsina was placed in the Umbracle gardens on Passeig de Santa Madrona, Montjuïc because it was a female nude that was not well regarded by the morals of the time |
| Renovation in 2008 | RUBATEC renovated the paving around the square, the central mosaic, and access points by adding ramps |
| Replacements in 1993 | Copies of Juventud by Josep Clarà and Pastor de la flauta by Pablo Gargallo were installed because the originals had deteriorated |
| Change in 1929 | Since 1929 the ensemble has remained practically unchanged except for later relocations and replacements |
| Removal of 1937 monument | The Monument al soldado desconocido by Miquel Paredes was installed in 1937 and removed two years later after the Francoist victory |
| Fountains installed in 1959 | Ornamental fountains on the mountain side of the square by Fernando Espiau Seoane |
| Replacement in 1982 | La diosa by Josep Clarà was replaced by a copy because the original was placed in the vestibule of the Casa de la Ciutat |
| Relocation of Niños cabalgando sobre peces | Originally in the square as a 1928 fountain group by Frederic Marès; moved in 1961 to the intersection of Gran Via and Rambla de Catalunya |
Significance | |
| Interpretation | Described as a true open-air sculpture museum |
| Artistic significance | One of the largest public-art ensembles in Barcelona |
Materials | |
| Pillar reliefs | Reliefs with coats of arms of the Catalan capitals by Antoni Agramunt Marsal |
| Earlier material requirement | All sculptural groups in the square had to be made in bronze except those on the upper terrace, which were stone, so some already executed in stone had to be remade |
| Materials | Most sculptures are bronze; the sculptures on the upper terrace are stone |
| Terrace sculpture material | Stone |
| Interior balustrade material | Bronze |
Technique | |
| Interior placement | Set on pedestals or niches on tall paired pillars, with two pillars between each group placed on a pedestal |
| Terrace placement | Placed on pedestals or on the terrace railings |
Appearance | |
| The Popular Spirit sculpture | By Jaume Otero; on the Llobregat side; paired with Woman with image of the Virgin by Enric Monjo |
| Terrace orientation | Four sculptures face the mountain and four face the sea |
| Montseny sculpture | By Jaume Duran; on the mountain side; paired with Woman by Joan Borrell |
| Woman sculpture | By Joan Borrell; on the sea side; paired with Montseny by Jaume Duran on the mountain side |
| Fisherman sculpture | By Josep Tenas; on the mountain side; opposite Emporion by Frederic Marès |
| Emporion sculpture | By Frederic Marès; on the sea side; opposite Fisherman by Josep Tenas on the mountain side |
| Shepherd with the Eagle sculpture | By Pablo Gargallo; on the Besòs side; paired with Pomona by Enric Monjo on the Llobregat side |
| Pomona sculpture | By Enric Monjo; on the Llobregat side; paired with Shepherd with the Eagle by Pablo Gargallo |
| Woman with image of the Virgin sculpture | By Enric Monjo; on the Besòs side; paired with The Popular Spirit by Jaume Otero on the Llobregat side |
| Terrace fountains relocation | Moved in 1961 to the intersection of Gran Via and Rambla de Catalunya |
| Listing order | Clockwise from the intersection between Passeig de Gràcia and Ronda de Sant Pere |
| Montserrat sculpture | By Eusebi Arnau; on the mountain side; on the same pillar as Female Figure by Josep Llimona on the sea side |
| Hercules sculpture | By Antonio Parera; on the mountain side; paired with Woman with Angel by Vicenç Navarro on the sea side |
| Female Figure sculpture | By Josep Llimona; on the sea side; on the same pillar as Montserrat by Eusebi Arnau |
| Woman with Angel sculpture | By Vicenç Navarro; on the sea side; paired with Hercules by Antonio Parera |
| Fountain of the six putti | By Jaume Otero; facing Portal de l'Àngel |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Work sculpture | By Llucià Oslé |
| Wisdom sculpture | By Miquel Oslé |
| Lérida sculpture | By Joan Borrell |
| Tarragona sculpture | By Jaume Otero; the first version had an integral female nude covered with a drape over the pubis and a naked angel on a dolphin that was removed |
| Gerona sculpture | By Antonio Parera |
| The goddess sculpture | By Josep Clarà; located inside a pond at the southeast corner of the square, facing the Ramblas |
| Sea-facing terrace sculptures | The Forger by Llimona; Woman with Child and Piccolo by Viladomat; Female Figure by Casanovas; Youth by Clarà |
| Mountain-facing terrace sculptures | Maternity by Navarro; Young Man by Dunyach; Shepherd with the Flute by Gargallo; Navigation by Arnau |
| Barcelona sculpture | By Frederic Marès |