Exhibition

Catalan Masters of the etching

Catalan engravers between 1750 to 1950

21 February, 2018 - 22 June, 2018

The exhibition of the Cabinet of Graphic Arts of Palau Antiguitats proposes an anthology about the Catalan engraving on etching; a technique that, with variants, has been given a minority social importance in relation with painting but with more relevance than it looks. Between the 18th and 20th centuries etching was subscribed as graphic support for: bibliography, illustrations, cartography, ex-libris, among others supports.

With near forty artists, this exhibition brings together a group of well-known creators in this field: from the baroque Francesc Tramullas, to the achievements of “La Rosa Vera” printmakers from the middle of the 20th century (Granyer, Galí, Mompou, Humbert, Amat, Ferrant, Todó, Guinovart, Pla Narbona), thanks to the high-level editorial effort led by Jaume Pla who opened the doors of calcographic creation to plastic artists who had never taken a burin to work with. Among many names, the works of Marià Fortuny stand out, unsuspected genius of the Catalan engraving of the nineteenth century; by Joaquim Mir, who made etchings with and special sense of beauty; Xavier Nogués, get an inventor of a very personal Nucentist calcography; along with contemporary ones such as Joaquim Sunyer or Ricard Canals. The unclassifiable Pau Roig turned to rembrandtian textures and others, such as Junceda, Smith or Domingo – who published a treated on etching – are present, as well as Pablo Gargallo and Laura Albéniz. In summary, an exhibition that shows that Catalan etching is not an “anecdote” and that we should take it more seriously than we think.