Lot 643: JOSEP M. JUJOL (1879-1949)

JOSEP M. JUJOL (1879-1949)
Chair
tropical hardwood, painted wrought-iron
34 in. (86.4 cm.) high
Designed in 1911 for the Botiga Mañach, Barcelona.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí , October 2006-January 2007, p. 207.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí , March-June 2007, p. 207.

Collection of Kiki and Pedro Uhart, Paris

The interior of the Botiga Mañach, 57, carrer de Ferran, Barcelona, decorated by Josep M. Jujol in 1911.

Drawing of the Botiga Mañach by Jujol, 1910.
copyright Arxiv Jujol

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Pedro Mañach, 1901
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. 2007 Estate of Pablo Picasso Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York



cf. Exhibition catalogue, Jujol dissenyador , Barcelona, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Palau Nacional, 2002, p. 41 for an illustration of a chair of this model.

D. Dollens et al., El Universo de Jujol , Barcelona, 1998, p. 11 for a pair of chairs with a variant wrought-iron support.

C. Flores, Gaudí, Jujol y el modernismo catalán , Madrid, 1982, pp. 288-299 for an illustration of the Botiga Mañach and a drawing by Jujol.

Josep Maria Jujol has been described as "the most famous, pure, and extravagant of all Antoni Gaudí's disciples." Working to a great extent in the master's shadow, Jujol nonetheless was sufficiently fired by his own creative instinct to produce independent works that well demonstrate his strong personal vision. His contributions to Gaudí's projects should not be overlooked and Jujol must take credit for his part in such lively and memorable works as the mosaic inlays on the serpentine bench of the Park Güell and the ironwork that embellishes the facades of the Casa Milà. Jujol was as much an artisan as a designer, always closely engaged with the making of things and showing an instinctive preference for humble materials. The present chair well exemplifies the intimacy of his involvement in process as well as concept. Jujol was a true artist-craftsman.

The chair incorporates two pieces of wood forming seat and back joined by a slender and eccentrically contorted frame of wrought iron. It is a powerfully symbolist piece, illustrating Jujol's deep piety, for the heart shapes poignantly refer to the Virgin Mary's heart, while the irregular hole in the back panel evokes a large, bleeding wound in the Madonna's heart. Jujol has created a moving testament to the depth of his commitment to the Catholic faith and the potent mysticism of its imagery.

This chair also provides a fascinating anecdotal insight into the close Catalan artistic milieu. The model was conceived in 1911 by Jujol as part of the furnishings and interior decoration for Pere Mañach's Botiga Mañach, the retail premises of the long-established and well-respected family business which specialized in making locks and safes and for which Pere was now assuming responsibility. Mañach had worked as art dealer for the young Picasso and the two had shared adventures in Paris in 1900. A strong passion for their native land established powerful ties within the creative circles of Barcelona, ties that remained important even to those who, like Picasso, moved to other cities to make their name.