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THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 1

The Catalan Modernista Movement.

Name

Institution

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 2

The Catalan Modernista Movement

The Modernista movement, also known as the Catalan Modernista movement or

rather Modernisme is associated with the search for a Catalan identity. It is the historical

period that was marked by an arts and literature revolution that aimed to distinguish the

Catalans and portray their unique identity as a nation. Architecture was the main form of

expression even though several other methods were put in place such as painting and

sculptures. Decorative arts and specific designs were used to boost the impacts of

architecture. Decorative arts that were mostly used included cabinet making, forged iron,

carpentry, goldsmith work, ceramics and glass making.

The Modernisme revolution took place from the late 18

century to the early 19

century, specifically between 1888 to 1911. The Modernista also included literature

revolution mainly including fiction, drama and poetry. Literature acquired a unique

Catalonian system which exhibited local features and ideologies. The city of Barcelona was

the centre of the Catalan Modernista Movement, though it was distributed to nearby cities

around Catalonia.

In the late 18

century, Spain was suffering the effects of fragmentation by civil

wars especially by her neighbours such as the French. There was a long period of political

adversity that extended up to the early 19

century. There was no stable united government

or group that was in control. Different parties in politics represented different divisions of

people, including the liberal, the moderate and the reactionary groups. These groups were in

constant disagreements and had short term control but were not able to unite the country.

In 1898, there was a Spanish-American war after sinking of Mine battleship in

Havana harbour. The war ended in December 10, 1898 with Spain at the losing end. The two

parties signed The Treaty of Paris and Spain lost control over its overseas empire including

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 3

The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Guam (Cassard, 2016). There was the establishment

of a constitutional monarchy amongst the conservative and liberal forces between 1874 and

1931. However, it did not bring about a long term solution as there was civil war thereafter.

Spain had a rich cultural background in the late 80s and early 90s period. This

included a rich and unique musical culture that no European country beats. The early people

adopted their music trends from the Romans and Greeks and combined their efforts to come

up with solid music genres. A lighter Spanish form of opera known as the zarzuela evolved in

the late 18

century and it continues up to date. Spanish culture was also marked by a deep

sense of art. The people valued their ancient artistic works and passed them on to generations.

Other cultural activities that the people were much involved in included paintings, sculptures

and glass works.

The industrial revolution came up in the early 19

century in Spain. It was generally

slow and it took longer as compared to other European countries. Spain missed on the

massive industrial change and caught up way later. The main reason behind this delay is that

Spain in that time was encountering great difficulties in adopting economic modernization.

Spain lagged behind in both economic and social developments. In 1900, most parts of Spain

were still rural with few modern industries that were found in Catalonia and Basque

provinces. The industries that existed were textile mills and metallurgical plants (Massague,

2014).

Manufacturing and agricultural industries sprung into existence from 1920. Greater

economic growth happened during World War I and especially in the reign of Miguel Primo

de Rivera as from 1923-1930. After that, more industries were established and Spain took a

bigger step towards industrial revolution. Banking services became available, mining

industries came up and petroleum depots were made accessible. The steps towards achieving

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 4

a modern economy were however slowed in 1936 when civil wars broke out. After the war,

the economy slowly picked up and became stable as from 1940.

Industrial revolution had positive impacts to the people of Spain. Employment

opportunities were created especially to the men who worked in the industries. Goods and

services were also made available and accessible. Most people who normally worked in the

farms and took part in cultural activities such as painting and art work had more opportunities

to get extra income. The revolution also created more demand for locally produced items and

materials. The government got taxes from the industries and thus an avenue for economic

growth and stabilization.

The Cerda Plan of 1859 was a motion initiated by Ildefons Cerda to expand

Barcelona. As an urban planner, he saw the rapid population growth and urbanization and

saw the need to come up with a visionary transformation plan for the city. He had studied the

old city and the problems the people were facing and he aimed to improve functionality,

quality of life and circulation. Cerda’s plan, better known as the Eixample was finally

implemented and it greatly aided in restructuring Barcelona. Facilities were spread across all

the quarters equally.

There has been a continuous quest for Catalonians to separate from Spain and

become a country on their own. The Catalonian activists hold that they do speak a different

language and have different cultures from the rest of the people in Spain and so secession

would be the best option for them. However, Georges Siotis and other economic professors

say that secession can be very messy and have devastating effects. The quest for secession

became strong as from 1975, after the death of Francisco Franco, the great Spain dictator.

The country then grew into a democracy and the Catalonians saw the increasing need to be

independent (Gubernick, 2015).

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 5

Spain however have strongly resisted the efforts of Catalonia to pull out with

several economic reasons. First, Barcelona is the wealthiest region in Spain and has more

resources as compared to the other regions. Thus if they separate, then Spain will face an

instant economic crisis. Political figures argue that Catalonia is not yet politically, socially

and culturally mature to be able to stand on their own and that the Catalonians should think of

the impacts after the divide, rather than just focusing on pushing for the split.

The Catalan bourgeoisie is made up of the wealthy class who control a big portion

of the economy. They were strongly against the Cerda Plan as they saw that it would

destabilize their economic status ant it did not give a provision for class differentiation. This

would thus render their social class unrecognised and they would lose their impact. However,

the plan was implemented against their wish. The period after saw the growth of the

industrial bourgeoisie who exhibited more cultural interests and had a higher purchasing

power.

In 1898, there occurred a Spanish disaster. It arose after President McKinley agreed

to sign the joint resolution in April 1898 that had been passed by the Congress. The

resolution demanded that Spain withdraw from Cuba. The Spanish people took it as a call for

war and attacked Cuba. The Spanish fleet was however caught unawares at Manila and

totally destroyed. After the war, Spain started political regeneration (Albert, 2004). More

focus on the society’s culture and arts was also put in place. The war served an important

purpose of liberating Spain and triggered the transformation to a modern world. The

bourgeoisie class of Spain population who had been in Cuba and were referred to as ‘Indians’

came back with lots of wealth, new cultural ideologies and a great push for modernity.

There was a big World Exhibition that took place in 1888. Its purpose was for Spain

to showcase its cultural products and works of art. The result afterwards was a tremendous

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 6

transformation in the city. It brought about changes in urban and architectural levels. It also

caused artistic changes that brought about cultural transformation. Changes in literature came

about and they aimed at restructuring and renewing Catalan as a language and to revive the

Catalan history. The people who were participating in this gradually created a cultural

movement and influenced other people to join it. The movement emphasised on architectural

and applied art changes.

The Catalan bourgeoisie at that time saw the need to create a new nationwide

awareness that would help them reacquire their social status. The new awareness movement

was known as Modernisme or rather the Modernista movement. The main intention of

Modernisme was to change the old Catalan society into a modern one. The rich class was the

driving force behind this revolution and they wanted the people to adapt modern methods of

doing things. This would definitely bring more profits to them as they identified niches in

modern equipment and technologies. (Arkinstall,2004)

The Modernista movement was to remove the society from the deeply engraved

roots of tradition and make them conform to new art. Architecture was among the most

targeted areas. Modernist architecture used different improved shapes and new materials.

This Modernisme was the driving force behind the unique Catalan Art Nouveau which stands

out from the rest of arts in other European nations. Modernisme used the local culture to

modernise Catalan. The drivers for change knew that it would be easy for the residents to

adapt their own ways than it would be for them to take up something new.

Architects played a vital role in the modern revolution. Among them were Lluis

Domenech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudi and Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Their great contribution

was in the construction of buildings of the modern revolution style. Lluis created ideal

alternative means of architecture by concentrating on a modern and international style. He

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 7

picked up his work from Viollet-le-Duc. The building structures he came up with were

characterised by constructive rationales and had a touch of ornaments. Some of the great

buildings from his work include the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the Institut Pere Mata in

Reus and the Hospital de Sant Pau. He worked closely with architect Josep.

Antoni Gaudi had a unique architecture mode that was based on observing nature

and incorporating traditional Catalan traditions applied in construction. He did this as he felt

the people would own up the buildings when they saw a touch of their ancient traditions on

them. He used standard geometrical shapes including the hyperboloid, the conoide and the

helicoid. Josep besides being an architect, was also a politician and historian. He was

involved in projects involving restoration of older buildings. A great building that employed

his architectural knowledge is the Casa Amatller. (Morales, 2001)

Notable painters in the modern revolution era include Santiago Rusinol and Ramon

Casas. Rusinol was both a painter, playwright and a poet. He was also a leader in the

Modernisme movement. He mainly used symbolism in his paintings. His works include the

Terraced Garden in Mallorca and Girona. Rusinol mentored several other painters such as

William Degouve. Ramon was mainly a portraitist, and used to sketch and paint. He was also

known for his mastery in painting of scenes involving crowds. One of his best works include

the portrait of Julia Peraire who ended up becoming his favourite model and he later married

her.

Sculptors also had a great contribution in the Modernista movement. The great

sculptors included Eusebi Arnau and Josep Llimona. Josep’s first sculptures were cademic

but he later on changed his style and adapted the modernism mode after being influenced by

Auguste Rodin. He did good monumental work that is appreciated in Barcelona up to date.

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 8

Eusebi worked closely with Josep. He also concentrated on Modernista sculptures. His major

sculptures include the dragons of Castell del Tres. (Robert, 2004)

Cabinet making and glass making were a key part of the Spain culture. Gaspar

Honnar was a great Spanish graphic artist and painter who specialised in the art of cabinet

making. He also did decorative works. His famous works include the Memories of Catalonia

and landscapes with woods and ruins. Luis Rigalt i Farriols is greatly known for his

glassworks. He made his artworks from glass and was also a teacher of the skill.

All these people played a key role in the modern revolution of Catalonia. Their

works were displayed in the 1888 World Exhibition which was the key event that started up

the Modernisme. Spain has generally undergone a great change from the traditional ancient

culture into the contemporary society. Through its transition, the culture has been kept intact

and has been passed on to generations successively.

THE CATALAN MODERNISTA MOVEMENT. 9

References.

Albert Nofi (2004) The Spanish American War.

Christine Arkinstall (2004) Gender Class and Nation of Catalonia.

Julia Massague (2014) The Spanish Industrial Revolution.

Salvador Giner (2007) The Social State of Catalonia.

Urbano Judith (2016) The Cerda Plan for the Expansion of Barcelona.

William Gilbert Cassard (2016) Battleship Indiana and Her Part in the Spanish-American

War.

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