Agapito Vallmitjana

AGAPITO VALLMITJANA (Barcelona, 1833- 1905).
"Couple of majos".
Terracotta.
Presents faults.
Measurements: 40 x 19 x 13 cm.
Sculptural group formed by a couple of costumbrista character. Both pieces reflect the interest of Agapito Vallmitjana for the popular types treated with a realistic sensibility and a marked expressive sense. The work is inscribed in the context of the sculptor's own historicist eclecticism where the direct observation and the sentimental content are combined with a solid academic formation acquired in the School of La Lonja under the tutelage of Damián Campeny. In contrast to the solemn monumentality of other creations by the artist, here a close and lively tone predominates, with a loose modeling and a notable formal dynamism, a frequent feature in Agapito's production that sometimes differentiates him from the work of his brother Venancio. The terracotta allows emphasizing the freshness of the gesture and the naturalness of the attitudes, showing the technical mastery and the sculptor's ability to give life and character to scenes of popular themes.