Manolo Hugué

MANOLO HUGUÉ (Barcelona, 1872 – Caldas de Montbui, Barcelona, 1945).
“Torero,” 1941.
Bronze.
Signed.
Measurements: 30 x 13 x 10 cm.

Manolo Hugué revitalized the genre of costumbrismo with depictions of mothers, elderly women, and Gypsies that transcend the traditional folkloric print. Here, the figure conveys a poignant existential retreat, evoking empathy.

Manuel Martínez Hugué, known as Manolo Hugué, trained at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona. A regular participant in the literary gatherings at “Els Quatre Gats,” he befriended Picasso, Rusiñol, Mir, and Nonell. In 1900, he moved to Paris, where he would reside for ten years. There, he rekindled his friendship with Picasso and befriended other avant-garde figures such as Apollinaire, Modigliani, Braque, and Derain. In the French capital, he worked on jewelry design and small-scale sculptures, influenced by the work of his friend, the sculptor and goldsmith Paco Durrio. In 1892, he collaborated with Torcuato Tasso on decorative works for the centennial celebrations of the Discovery of America. Between 1910 and 1917, devoting himself entirely to sculpture, he worked in Ceret, where he brought together a diverse group of artists, including Juan Gris, Joaquín Sunyer, and, once again, Picasso. During these years, he held exhibitions in Barcelona, Paris, and New York. In 1932, he was appointed a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George in Barcelona. In Hugué’s work, the essential element is the relationship with nature, viewing the human figure as an integral part of it. This is a characteristic of Noucentista classicism, but in Hugué’s hands, it transcends its limited origins. He typically depicted peasants, though he also portrayed bullfighters and dancers, always rendered with a level of detail and an appreciation for textures that reveal his early training as a goldsmith. His artistic output blends Mediterranean tradition, Greek classicism and archaism, and the art of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia with the European avant-garde that he assimilated and experienced firsthand—specifically Matisse’s Fauvism and Cubism. Works by Hugué are held in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, and the Reina Sofía National Art Museum, among many others.