Josep Llimona

JOSEP LLIMONA BRUGUERA (Barcelona, 1864–1934).
"Ramón Berenguer I."
Bronze.
Signed.
With the Bechini foundry stamp.
Measurements: 78 x 29 x 17 cm.
Exhibitions: MEAM "Josep Llimona," 2015. Reproduced in the catalog, p. 101; MEAM "A Century of Catalan Sculpture," 2013. Reproduced in the catalog, p. 90.
MEAM “A Century of Catalan Sculpture,” 2013. Reproduced in the catalog, p. 96.

A bronze sculpture depicting Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, in a solemn and serene pose. The figure stands upright, full-length, clad in armor and draped in a regal cloak, holding the hilt of his sword in a firm yet restrained gesture. The face, slightly tilted, conveys an introspective intensity that combines authority, contemplation, and nobility. Llimona sculpts the work with his characteristic sensitivity, blending naturalism with symbolist lyricism. The treatment of the drapery is particularly expressive, creating an interplay of planes and folds that lend movement and depth. In this depiction of Ramon Berenguer I, Llimona revives the Catalan historical imagination with heroic solemnity yet without excessive grandiloquence, endowing the figure with a human and almost meditative character. The work reflects the era’s interest in national historical figures and fits squarely within the monumental and symbolic trend that gained momentum in Catalonia during the first third of the 20th century.

Josep Llimona is remembered as the most important Catalan Modernist sculptor. Trained at the Llotja School in Barcelona, he received a scholarship to study in Rome in 1880. During his stay in Italy, he was influenced by Florentine Renaissance sculpture. The works he sent from there earned him awards (including the gold medal at the 1888 Barcelona World’s Fair) as well as a strong reputation. Together with his brother Joan, he founded the Sant Lluc Artistic Circle, a Catalan artistic association with a religious character (both brothers were deeply devout). By the mid-1890s, his style had already shifted toward full-fledged Modernism. He received the honorary prize at the International Fine Arts Exhibition held in Barcelona in 1907. Beginning in 1900, he focused on his famous female nudes, and in 1914, in collaboration with Gaudí, he created his impressive “Risen Christ.” His artistic genius was also evident in large public monuments such as the equestrian statue of Saint George in Montjuïc Park in Barcelona, as well as in funerary art, such as the mausoleums he designed for various cemeteries. In addition to exhibiting in Barcelona and other Catalan cities, he showed his work in Madrid, Brussels, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Rosario (Argentina). He served as president of the Barcelona Museum Board from 1918 to 1924, and again from 1931 until his death in 1934. Throughout his life, he received numerous honors, notably those awarded by the governments of France and Italy. He also received the Gold Medal of the City of Barcelona in 1932, in recognition of his extraordinary work in the development of museum activities. Works by Llimona are preserved at the Monastery of Montserrat, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, and the Reina Sofía Museum, among others.