The Museu Frederic Marès focusses on the work of Aristides Maillol
The exhibition “Maillol and Greece” can be seen up until the 31st of January, 2016, and offers an account of the sculptor’s voyage to Greece and the inspiration he found there
The Museu Frederic Marès presents Maillol and Greece, an exhibition that offers an insight into the voyage to Greece, in April and May of 1908, of the sculptor Aristides Maillol in the company of Anglo-German count, Harry Kessler. During the trip the sculptor was to reassert and confirm his aesthetic ideal, re-reading Ancient Greek tradition and focussing on the ancient statues in the same way that, for example, Gauguin was inspired by Oceanic art.
The sculptural ideal of Aristedes Maillol was to have a significant influence on modern 20th-century sculpture, in particular Catalan Noucentisme and Post-Noucentisme, and would establish itself as a European reference point for the study and dissemination of sculpture as an art form.
In addition to statues the likes of Mediterrània (1905), one of the most important sculptures of the 20th century, the exhibition features a wide range of artistic and documentary material relating to the voyage in question, including Maillol’s engagement and sketch books, a couple of oil paintings and a selection of photographs by Kessler. The voyage is presented on the basis of two maps of the travel itinerary and numerous accompanying documents as well as through projections of Kessler’s photographs and sketches made by Maillol during the voyage.
The centrepiece of the exhibition consists of the indispensable Mediterrània as well as a series of twenty-three sculptures that reveal the artistic development of the sculptor, all bar seven of which are on display for the first time. In addition, in an adjoining room, visitors can see a short film entitled Aristides Maillol, sculptor, which includes interviews that Jean Lods made with Maillol in 1943, a year before the artist’s death.
The exhibition also serves as the starting point for a new development in which, following a recent period of remodelling, the Museu Frederic Marès will attempt to attract more public attention with a programme of more wide-ranging, less specialised exhibitions.
Maillol and Greece
When: up to the 31st of January
Tickets: 4,20 €
Where: Museu Frederic Marès
More information here