Enric Monjo

ENRIC MONJO GARRIGA (Barcelona, 1896 - 1976).
"Female bust.
Marble.
Measurements: 37 x 20 x 14 cm.
Exhibitions: MEAM "A century of Catalan sculpture", 2013. Reproduced in the catalog, page 273.

Enric Monjo developed an outstanding career both in Catalonia and internationally, being the author of numerous public, monumental and religious works, as well as intimate portraits like this one, where his technical mastery, psychological sensitivity and the search for formal balance are evident. Monjo achieves a perfect synthesis between naturalism and classical serenity, avoiding excessive dramatization to focus on a calm, almost meditative beauty, fully linked to the spirit of Catalan Noucentisme, a movement with which he maintained stylistic affinity.

Monjo began his studies at the Llotja de Barcelona, and later continued his training in the workshops of Eusebi Arnau and Josep Llimona. It was the latter who introduced him to noucentisme. He studied anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine, in order to have a deep knowledge of the human body and apply it in his work. In 1926 he received first prize in the National Sculpture Competition of Public Institutions and Fine Arts, the first of a long list of awards he would receive throughout his career. In the 1950s he began his international activity, especially in the United States, but also in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Taiwan. Monjo also devoted himself to teaching; in 1940 he obtained the chair of Artistic Anatomy at the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and between 1943 and 1961 he held the chair of Artistic Anatomy at the Llotja. In 1971 the Enric Monjo Museum was created in his native Vilassar de Mar, where the largest collection of the artist's work can be found. In addition, his work can currently be seen in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Tarrasa, the monasteries of Montserrat and Sant Cugat del Vallès, the church of Sant Feliu in Sabadell, the Pau Casals Museum in San Juan de Puerto Rico, the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg and the Cathedral of Washington D.C.