Enric Casanovas

ENRIC CASANOVAS ROY (Barcelona, 1882–1948).
“Flora,” c. 1917.
Marble sculpture.
Measurements: 78 x 31 x 18 cm.
The Roman goddess of spring, Flora, has been transformed in this sculpture by Enric Casanovas into an image whose beauty seems to have been plucked from the flow of events. Her eternal vitality, however, coexists with her rootedness in a specific place and time. Casanovas adapts the ideal of Catalan Noucentisme—the search for a Mediterranean essence—to his own genius. The statue adopts a subtle contrapposto that lends a slight movement to the drapery. It falls in vertical folds that accentuate its monumentality. With harmonious proportions and serene features, every superfluous detail has been eliminated to extract from the stone the essence of a soul that beats beneath the silent countenance. Yet the long skirt and blouse lend the woman a contemporary air, distancing her from any Platonic ideal. It seems to us that the young woman with smooth skin could come to life at any moment. The physical and the spiritual, the timeless and the circumstantial, are held in perfect balance. The cloak glides down her bare arms, closing the back of the figure with a gentle curve. In one hand she holds a rose, the only element that refers to the goddess of flowers. This sculpture belongs to a mature phase in the sculptor’s career, a period in which his aesthetic had reached a remarkable degree of refinement.
The sculptor Enric Casanovas began his training as a disciple of Josep Llimona, before enrolling at the Escuela de La Lonja in Barcelona. In 1900, he made his first trip to Paris, and upon his return, he exhibited his work at Els Quatre Gats. Between 1904 and 1913, he lived between Paris and Barcelona, associating with Picasso, Maillol, and Gargallo, among other artists. In 1920, he was granted a special gallery at the Fine Arts Exhibition, and in 1922, he participated in the Catalan Artists Exhibition in Amsterdam. Five years later, he exhibited his work in Italy, and in 1929 he won the gold medal at the Barcelona World’s Fair. In 1932, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Gergi, and in 1935 he received the Campeny Prize from the Government of Catalonia. His work is currently represented in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Municipal Museum of Tossa de Mar, the Jaume Morera Art Museum in Lleida, the Luis Perlotti Sculpture Museum in Buenos Aires, and the MACBA in Barcelona.