Rafael Solanic

RAFAEL SOLANIC BALIUS (Barcelona, 1895–1990).
“Figure.”
Gilded bronze.
Signed.
Measurements: 27 cm (height including base).

Rafael Solanic was a student and assistant in the studio of sculptors Esteve Monegal and Eusebi Arnau. He completed his training at the Escuela Superior de Bellos Oficios, where he would later serve as a professor upon graduating. Stylistically, he is associated with the “Noucentista” (“Novecentista”) movement, alongside artists such as Frederic Marès and Enric Monjo, among others. He worked in both freestanding sculpture and architectural ornamentation, using materials such as marble, bronze, stoneware, iron, and wood. He received commissions from churches as well as public and private institutions in Catalonia and held several solo exhibitions, primarily at the Syra and Badrinas galleries in Barcelona. In 1943, he won a third-place medal at the National Exhibition in Madrid, and in 1949, a gold medal at the National Exhibition of Decorative Arts. He also served as president of the San Lucas Artistic Circle and received other awards and honors, such as the Cross of Sant Jordi of Catalonia in 1986. Much of his work is housed at the Frederic Marès Museum in Barcelona. Notable examples of his public art include the Domènec Sanllehy Fountain in the square of the same name, the Carmen Amaya Fountain in Barcelona’s Plaza Brugada, and other monuments.