Miquel Blay i Fàbregas

Miquel Blay i Fàbregas around 1920

Miquel Blay i Fàbregas (* 1866 in Olot , Catalonia , † 1936 in Madrid ) was a Catalan sculptor of realism and symbolism.

life and work

Miquel Blay worked from 1880 from the age of 14 to the age of 22 in the atelier "El Arte Cristiano" for the production of religious folk art of the brothers Vayreda ( Joaquim and Marià Vayreda i Vila ) in Olot. His teacher Josep Berga i Boix taught him an excellent drawing and sculpture technique. He integrated this into a very personal, expressive sculpture full of life. The work of Miquel Blay marks a turning point in Spanish sculpture that did not reach an outstanding level at its time.

From 1888 to 1893 Blay first went to Paris on a scholarship to the Académie Julian and to the sculptor Henri Chapu . Auguste Rodin's lyricism and Constantin Meunier's idealistic portrayal of social issues made a deep impression on him in Paris. In 1992 he also went to Rome on a scholarship , where he concentrated more on the development of the emblematic, symbolic and symbolic dimensions in his work as a sculptor. In his work “Els primers freds” (1892), the tendency towards social realism is particularly expressed on the one hand in the male figure and the profound symbolism in the female figure of the group. The following female sculptures such as “Margheritina” (1892), “Ondina” (1895), “Dona i Flors” (1899) and “Pensativa” (1900, the thoughtful) are clearly committed to symbolism. In contrast, Blay has several male sculptures at the same time (such as the bust “Del meu Poble” (1890) or the figures “el fonedor” (the founder) and “el barrinaire” (the demolisher) both in the complex of the monument to Víctor Chávarri (1903) integrated) in a clearly realistic way. In 1906 Blay went to Madrid as a lecturer , where he dealt with commissioned work to depict people in large-scale sculptures. On December 13, 1906, the Spanish royal family inaugurated the “Monument to Doctor Federico Rubio” in Madrid. This monument in honor of the named person also represents an allegory of humanity, represented in a mother with her children, giving flowers to the doctor.

Blay received numerous honors for his artistic work. The work "Els primers freds" from 1892 has received several awards and is considered to be one of the most outstanding works of Spanish sculpture of this time. Among other things, Blay was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona and Madrid.

Works

Miquel Blay: Cançó popular, group of figures at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona

Famous works by Miquel Blay are:

• Del meu poble (1890, bust, From my people, Museu d'Art Modern, Barcelona)
• Els primers freds (1892, The First Cold, Palau de les Belles Arts, Barcelona)
• Margheritina (1892, Museu Comarcal, Olot)
• Ondina (1895, Museu Comarcal, Olot)
• Dona i Flors (1899, Museu Comarcal, Olot)
• Pensativa (1900, The Thoughtful, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid)
• Monument to Víctor Chávarri (1903, Portugalete , Basque Country, Basque industrialist from heavy industry)
• Monument to Federico Rubio (1906, Madrid, Spanish doctor and politician)
• Eclosió (1908, The Development, Garrotxa Museum, Olot)
• Cançó popular (1909, folk song, group of figures at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona)
• Monument to Alfonso XII (1909, Madrid, Parque del Retiro, Spanish King)
• Monument to Mariano Moreno in Buenos Aires (1910, Argentine lawyer and politician)
• The fountain on Plaça d'Espanya in Barcelona (1929, World's Fair)

Web links

Commons : Miquel Blay  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Enciclopèdia Catalana: Miquel Blay i Fàbregas. Retrieved January 3, 2018 (Catalan). 
• Museo Nacional del Prado: Miguel Blay. Retrieved January 3, 2018 (Spanish). 
• Esculturaurbana.com: Miguel Blay Fábregas - Exhibitions and works in public space. Retrieved January 3, 2018 (Spanish). 

literature

• Enciclopèdia Catalana: Blay i Fàbregas, Miquel . In: Gran enciclopèdia catalana. 2nd edition 5th reprint 1992. Volume 5 . Enciclopèdia catalana, Barcelona 1987, ISBN 84-85194-89-6 , p. 130 f . (Catalan).
• Hèlios Rubio et al .: Art de Catalunya (Ars Cataloniae) . El Modernisme (with reviews of works by the sculptor Miquel Blay i Fàbrega). 1st edition. tape 7 /16 (Escultura moderna i Contemporània). Edicions L'Isard, Barcelona 1998, ISBN 84-89931-03-8 , pp. 178, 181 ff., 185 ff .
• Pilar Ferrés Lahoz: Miquel Blay i Fàbrega (1866–1936), Itinerari artístic, Olot 2004, ISBN 84-86626-36-6
• Josep Maria Canals: Diccionari Biogràfic d'Olot . Ed .: Ajuntament d'Olot. 1st edition. Olot 2015, OCLC 943687866 (Catalan). Page 103, article “Blay i Fàbregas, Miquel”; there is also a bibliography of other works by and about Miquel Blay.