Joan Rebull

JOAN REBULL (Reus, 1899 - Barcelona, 1981).
"Nu estirat".
Marble.
Wood base.
Signed.
Work published in the book "Rebull", Cultural Centre of the Palau de la Virreina, September-October nº74, 1982. Barcelona City Council.
Measurements: 138 x 50 x 56 cm (sculpture); 7,5 x 150 x 65 cm (base).

Joan Rebull, considered one of the most important Catalan sculptors of the 20th century, carried out different commissions for this work, with some variations. Two commissions in white marble are recorded: one for President Josep Tarradellas and another for the collector Tomàs Seix.

Previously, in the thirties, influenced by Matisse, he carried out "Nu recolzat" (Supported Nude), and continued with the same theme, calling it "Nu ajagut" (Stretched Nude). Rebull explained that the stretched nude interested him because it was the position in which he used less material, specifically a horizontal rectangle.

The sculpture represents with delicacy and mastery a naked young woman, covered only by a cap or scarf that wraps around her head, giving her an intimate and contained air. The figure is gathered on herself in a posture of serene introspection: she bends one leg against her chest, while the other, also bent, rests with its foot firmly on the ground, giving the composition a subtle dynamic balance. It is this play of volumes and folds that Rebull called the "horizontal rectangle". The twisting of the body, the head tilted to one side, the left leg tucked in and the hands crossed over the right leg holding it at the highest point of the rectangle, make this piece an exceptional work, meditated and of great beauty.

The work stands out for its profound naturalism, a faithful reflection of Rebull's interest in the human figure, not as an idealized archetype, but as a sensitive incarnation of tangible beauty. The face, with its soft and harmonious features, conveys a meditative calm. The modeling is sober and precise, revealing a refined anatomical understanding, especially visible in the representation of the flesh tones, which have a tactile truthfulness without falling into academic affectation.

Variations of this sculpture can be found in the gardens of the Palauet Albéniz in Barcelona, in the Museu Mar i Cel in Sitges, in the Town Hall of Reus and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

Considered as the most outstanding Catalan sculptor of his time, Joan Rebull began in the world of sculpture in his hometown, with the sculptor Pau Figueres. In 1915 he moved to Barcelona to begin his artistic training at the School of Fine Arts of La Lonja, while working in the workshop of the marble artist Bechini. In 1916 he made his individual debut with an exhibition at the Centro de Lectura in Reus, and the following year he founded, together with other artists, the group known as "Els Evolucionistes", which aimed to replicate the Catalan Noucentisme. In 1921 he traveled to London and Paris, cities where he was particularly impressed by the ancient art housed in their museums. Between 1926 and 1929 he lived in the French capital and took part in the Salon des Indépendants, although he also sent works to exhibitions in Barcelona. In Paris he was the first artist hired by the prominent Catalan art dealer Joan Merli. On his return he was appointed president of the new Montjuic Salon (1932) and a member of the Sant Jordi Academy (1934), took part in various exhibitions in Madrid and Barcelona and, in 1938, won the Campeny Prize at the Salon d'Automne in Barcelona. After the war, he went into exile in Paris, where he took an active part in artistic life, attending the exhibition "Le Jeune Sculpture Française" and the Salons d'Automne. He returns to Barcelona in 1948, and three years later he obtains a great prize in the I Bienal Hispanoamericana de Arte de Madrid. In 1962 he was appointed professor at the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, and shortly before his death he was awarded the gold medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya. A child of noucentista perfectionism and a great draughtsman, Rebull works with great technical mastery and certainty in the path to follow. His is a direct and anti-rhetorical sculpture, based on a serene and essential vision of reality. His style can be defined as a reencounter with the source of classicism, from which he never copies the consequences. He is represented in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Reina Sofia National Center, the Barcelona City Hall, the Monastery of Montserrat and the Palau de la Música Catalana, among other centers.