Gaspar Homar

GASPAR HOMAR (Bunyola, Mallorca, 1870 – Barcelona, 1953).
Display cabinet, c. 1900
Carved and gilded fruitwood, with floral marquetry and brass accents. Electrified.
200 × 100 × 38 cm.
A piece that, like few others, embodies the ideal of Modernist furniture as a total work of art. Here, Gaspar Homar transforms a display cabinet intended for domestic use into a true object of representation: the architectural structure of the piece serves as a backdrop for an exuberant floral repertoire, where the gilded carving, marquetry, and metal details blend into a composition of extraordinary ornamental richness. The design of this piece finds interesting parallels in the display cabinets and furniture designed by Homar for some of the most significant interiors of Barcelona Modernism. The MNAC holds, among other pieces, a two-part display cabinet with a mirror from 1907–1908 and various pieces of furniture from Casa Lleó Morera, where Homar took marquetry, carving, and precious materials to a level of artistry akin to stage design. Its electrified nature is particularly significant. More than a simple retrofit, the presence of lighting in a piece of furniture of this nature evokes the Modernist fascination with electricity and with new ways of transforming the domestic interior through light. For Homar, furniture, decoration, and lighting could all form part of the same artistic language.
Gaspar Homar was one of the leading figures in the decorative arts of Catalan Modernism. He trained at the La Llotja School and later in the prestigious workshop of Francesc Vidal. After his father’s death in 1895, he took over the family workshop and quickly achieved widespread national and international recognition. His collaboration with architects and artists of the time led him to participate in the decoration of some of the most important interiors of Modernist Barcelona.