Antoni Clavé

ANTONI CLAVÉ (Barcelona, 1913 – Saint-Tropez, 2005).
“La gloire des rois VII,” 1976.
Carborundum engraving, embossing, and collage on paper.
P.A. copy; the standard edition consists of 35 copies.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 49 x 35 cm (paper); 80 x 65 x 3 cm (frame).

“La gloire des rois VII” belongs to the print series developed by Antoni Clavé in 1976 based on Saint-John Perse’s *La Gloire des Rois*, a particularly significant project due to the freedom with which the artist explores the material possibilities of printmaking. The work is documented in the Sala Gaspar catalog of prints under number 209, as part of a standard edition of only 35 copies; this particular piece is an artist’s proof.

Clavé constructs the composition through the strong contrast between the black masses of carborundum and the extensive light areas of the paper. The embossing introduces barely perceptible forms that are only fully revealed when light falls on them, while the irregular edges and the layering of papers lend a physical dimension that brings the print closer to the status of an object. This combination of printing, relief, and collage constitutes one of the most characteristic features of the graphic exploration the artist pursued during the 1970s.

Printmaking occupied a central place in Antoni Clavé’s career; he approached printmaking with the same experimental interest as he did painting and sculpture. His graphic work has been the subject of successive catalogs raisonné, from the one compiled by Roger Passeron in 1977 to the one published by Skira in 2017. In 1984, Clavé represented Spain at the Venice Biennale, and his work is held in major institutional collections; MACBA owns, among other pieces, several prints from the series *La gloire des rois*, dated 1976.