Lladró. Valencia, s. XX.

LLADRÓ. Valencia, Spain, 20th century.
"Young man".
Sculpture in glazed porcelain.
With marks of the manufacture on the back.
Measurements: 20 x 11 x 16 cm (the largest).
Two figures represented with the characteristic delicacy of Lladró. One of them appears reclining on a cushion, executing a smooth and ceremonious movement, as if it was preparing to initiate a dance or to offer a ritual gesture. The other leans gracefully over a floral vase.
The Lladró pottery and porcelain firm was founded in 1953 by brothers Juan, José and Vicente Lladró, who created their first pieces with an experimental vocation, in a Moorish oven built in their own home in Almàssera, Valencia. In this way they gave vent to their artistic restlessness while working in a tile and tableware factory. In 1958 the three brothers decided to dedicate themselves exclusively to their own production, and moved their small business to the neighboring town of Tabernes Blanques. By this time, the demand for Lladró creations reached unexpected dimensions. The brothers introduced innovations not only in the design and style of the figures, but also in the firing techniques, managing to reduce firing from three stages to one. Single firing is a pioneering method that makes it possible to obtain the crystalline finish and pastel shades characteristic of Lladró pieces. A growing number of sculptors, chemists and decorators multiplied the work of the founders, and by the end of the fifties the first Lladró store was opened in Valencia. In the following decade the company's exporting vocation began to take on importance, and the firm entered the Canadian and American markets. In the seventies, a new material, stoneware, was introduced, which allowed for the creation of large sculptures and gave warmth to the pieces. The following decade saw the opening of the Lladró Museum in New York and the birth of the Collectors' Society, and in the nineties the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg hosted an exhibition of Lladró sculptures, acquiring two pieces from the firm for its permanent collection.