Lambert Escaler

LAMBERT ESCALER I MILÀ (Vilafranca del Penedès, 1874 - Barcelona, 1957).
"Maleina with hibiscus", c.1903.
Polychrome terracotta.
Measurements: 34 x 49 x 19 cm.
Exhibitions: MEAM "A century of Catalan sculpture", 2013. Reproduced in the catalog, page 108. MEAM "Somnis i tentacions. La escultura catalana en temps del Modernisme", 2025. Reproduced in the catalog, p. 114 and on the cover.
Piece molded in stucco, and finished with a delicate polychrome, in warm tones, whose undulating and organic forms characterize the work of Lambert Escaler, modernist master. The nymph was a constant figure in his sculptural work. She is the ethereal, mysterious and seductive woman, who lives immersed in nature, forming part of it; this concept of the feminine as a personification of the hidden part of nature, of darkness and chaos, attractive and at the same time diabolical in a certain way, derives directly from symbolist literature, a basic source within modernism in all of Europe. There are other versions of the same theme, whose differences are perceived, more than in their formal approaches in the finishes, (in the patinas) or in other related details. For its quality, it is worth remembering other similar examples, such as the one preserved in the MNAC, (31 x 43 x 17 cm.), or the one in a private collection, (Maleina, 31 x 45.5 x 19), both without flowers on the head and less stylized. Maleina is the name by which the magazine Pèl i Ploma decided to make this work known, this name comes from Maeterlink's symbolist drama The Princess Maleina (1889) whose protagonist has all the features of the pre-Raphaelite ideal. This author, by applying the technique of the mold and by using such a modest material as clay, works the serialization of original pieces, not a repetition or a copy of them, with the same spirit of the sculptor who prepares his originals with other nobler materials. They are apparently identical works but without being so, since each one, once molded, receives its own treatment, detailing the aspects of the polychrome, its finishes, its delicacy and, why not, its subtleties. The secret, in short, of his mastery.
Lambert Escaler was a multifaceted artist who stood out as a playwright and author of comedies and sketches, but mainly for his work as a sculptor and decorator. He is the author of several sculptural sets applied to buildings, polychrome terracotta pieces for the decoration of furniture, dioramas, nativity scenes, etc. In the midst of the development of modernism, his female busts, such as the one presented here, with symbolist and Art Nouveau influences, brought him great recognition and commercial success. Part of his popularity was due precisely to the material with which these works were made, as they were much more affordable than those in marble or bronze. Escaler trained as a disciple of Josep Campeny, and began his career as a playwright. Later he made his first sculptures within the costumbrista realism of the time, although his style would soon evolve towards full modernism. Lambert Escaler is currently represented in the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and in the Museum of Popular Arts and Industries of Barcelona, as well as in numerous private collections.