Expressively Crafted: Josep Jujol’s Connection to Arts and Crafts Ideals by Cate McCowin Department of Art and Art History, University of Colorado Boulder Defended April 1, 2020 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Robert Nauman Committee Members: Dr. Robert Nauman, Department of Art and Art History Dr. Marina Kassianidou, Department of Art and Art History Dr. Javier Krauel, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Abstract Josep Maria Jujol (1879–1949) was an architect working in Barcelona during the city’s period of cultural upheaval and modernization. Modernisme was the art movement that encompassed this ​ ​ time period, coming from the international Art Nouveau movement. Jujol worked as a collaborator for many years with Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a key figure in Barcelona’s architectural landscape. Jujol was responsible for the overseeing of various elements and the physical creation of some of the most iconic components of Gaudí’s architecture in Casa Battló, Casa Milà, and Park Güell. Yet, in art history, the work of Jujol has been eclipsed by the narrative of Gaudí’s “solo genius.” This thesis asserts the importance of Jujol on a global scale by aligning his work as a craftsman and architect with the values of the Arts and Crafts movement. The Arts and Crafts movement valued the handcrafted and the artist’s presence in their work, which is something exemplified by Josep Jujol. 2 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Chapter One: Global Context……………………………………………………….…………. 7 Chapter Two: Barcelona’s Modern Makeover………………………………………………… 20 Chapter Three: Josep Jujol………………………………………………………….…………. 32 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..…………. 44 Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………. 47 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………… 58 3 Introduction Barcelona. The image that comes to mind at the utterance (or internet search) of this city ​ is one in which ornate conical towers pierce the sky and stone seems to drip off a sculptural facade; it is an undulating bench, with bright geometric tiles formed in kaleidoscopic patterns. These two icons of Barcelona, La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell respectively, are the works of Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a man whose name is almost synonymous with the city. Gaudí’s work is emblematic of architecture in Barcelona during a time in which the city went through a physical and cultural upheaval. The predominant art movement in Barcelona was called modernisme and was Barcelona’s version of the global Art Nouveau movement, encompassing ​ applied and decorative art as well as architecture. It took different directions in each country based on the industrial and social (as well as scientific and political) developments of the time.1 Preceding Art Nouveau was the Arts and Crafts movement, originating in Great Britain. The idea of the Arts and Crafts movement was to get back to the handcrafted and away from the mass-production of an industrial society. The aim was to infuse art and architecture once more with the artist’s physical presence, and to carefully craft each detail.2 Gaudí was inspired by the Arts and Crafts idea of a “total” architecture, an architecture in which all elements are purposefully created and connected. This interest is prevalent throughout his work: from door handles specifically molded to the human hand, to rich mosaic work.3 Given Gaudí’s interest in the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement, a movement which values the artist’s hand and that which is crafted by hand, the question arises: who actually ​ 1 Hans van Lemmen and Bart Verbrugge, Art Nouveau Tiles, (New York: Rizzoli, 1999), 7. ​ ​ ​ 2 Isabelle Anscombe, Arts and Crafts Style, (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1991), 7. ​ ​ ​ 3 Lluís Permanyer, In Detail: Barcelona Art Nouveau, trans. Sue Brownbridge, (Barcelona: ​ ​ ​ Polígrafa, 2004), 64. 4 physically created the work for which Gaudí is known? Gaudí’s fame has created a narrative of his work being that of a great, solo, genius architect. His genius is proclaimed in tours of his work, in the scholarship written about him, and in the minds of those that visit his buildings. The concept of the “solo genius” is not new, and while Gaudí certainly was innovative in his way of conceiving architecture and seeing the natural world through geometry, it would be remiss to ignore the collaboration of his workshop. The architect’s workshop has to be a collaborative effort, because architects themselves do not draw out every plan or lay every stone. Gaudí’s workshop apparently held a great collective energy, one in which workers would be involved in the “experimental excitement” that permeated the studio, and in which the architecture would be “conceived as a kind of collective enterprise.”4 One such collaborator was Josep Maria Jujol (1879–1949). Jujol’s association with Gaudí began around 1906 and lasted four or five years.5 Theirs was a true partnership, not just one of master and disciple, but one in which Jujol was able to freely carry out designs and oversee elements of decoration in some of Gaudí’s best-known works.6 However, Jujol is often only a brief edition in the biography of Gaudí, written as a simple disciple, or in more recent publications, as a collaborator and co-worker, but one who is significantly less important than the genius himself. Jujol created spaces that worked harmoniously and were designed purposefully, and is responsible for the physical creation of prominent elements both in his collaborations on Gaudí’s architecture and in his own independent work. 4 Ignasi de Solà-Morales, Jujol, trans. Jennifer Jackson and Kerstin Engström, (New York: ​ ​ ​ Rizzoli, 1991), 7. 5 Solà-Morales, 7. 6 Solà-Morales, 7. ​ 5 In this thesis I will argue that because Jujol can be considered a “total” architect, with his hand physically in many elements of both his and Gaudí’s architecture, that he had a stronger connection to the Arts and Crafts movement than Gaudí or his other contemporaries. With this thesis, I intend to offer a global and local context to modernisme and the work of Josep Jujol in ​ ​ order to demonstrate his connection to the Arts and Crafts movement on a global scale. While the work of Jujol is beginning to gain more recognition in scholarship, the global and historical significance of his craftsmanship is vastly underappreciated, and the connection of Jujol’s work to the Arts and Crafts movement nonexistent. Therefore, it is my hope that this thesis can provide a unique perspective and further knowledge of the significance of Jujol’s work. Chapter Outline In the first chapter, I outline the Arts and Crafts movement’s origin in Great Britain, and the ideologies and aesthetics that developed from it. I then discuss the manifestation of Art Nouveau as an international movement. Chapter Two delves into the unique context of Barcelona during the turn of the century, and I examine the importance of the creation of the Eixample, and the intellectual, artistic, and economic growth that was crucial to the development of Barcelona as a modern city. This chapter also makes the important distinction between global Art Nouveau and Barcelona’s unique form of modernisme. In the third and final chapter, I focus ​ ​ specifically on Jujol, outlining his early biography, his collaboration with Gaudí, and his work after Gaudí. The intention of this chapter is to demonstrate Jujol’s significance to the global art movements and to prove his alignment with the handcrafted ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement. Thus, I will confirm the importance of Josep Jujol on a global scale, beyond the shadow cast upon him by Antoni Gaudí. 6 Chapter One: Global Context Knowledge of the global art movements during Jujol’s time is fundamental in order to understand his work. This chapter will explore the Arts and Crafts movement as a means for understanding the movement’s connection with Jujol. Although the Arts and Crafts movement did not end with the emergence of Art Nouveau, its ideas evolved into and made way for Art Nouveau to become an international movement. Art Nouveau manifested itself differently in every country in which it took place, taking the distinct form of modernisme in Barcelona. ​ ​ The Arts and Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement took place in mid-to-late 19th century Britain, as a reaction to the effects of industrialization, and the moral concerns of industrial capitalism.7 At its core, the Arts and Crafts movement aimed at reforming design and infusing quality once more into the work process. Architecture and decorative arts were seen as reflections of society's health,8 and the Industrial Revolution’s reliance on machine-made products was believed to have devalued the work of the craftsman. The reformers therefore wished to re-establish harmony between architect, designer, and craftsman, and to bring back valued handcrafted objects that were well-designed and affordable.9 One of the Arts and Crafts influencers, A.H. Mackmurdo, saw the movement as “a mighty upheaval of man’s spiritual nature.”10 This signifies that the Arts and Crafts movement for many was not just a style, but a way of life.11 Mackmurdo also believed 7 Hans van Lemmen and Bart Verbrugge, Art Nouveau Tiles, (New York: Rizzoli, 1999), 17. ​ ​ ​ 8 Isabelle Anscombe, Arts and Crafts Style, (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1991), 7. ​ ​ ​ 9 Elizabeth Cumming and Wendy Kaplan, The Arts and Crafts Movement, (London: Thames and ​ ​ ​ Hudson, 1991), 6. 10 Anscombe, 7 ​ 11 Anscombe, 7. ​ 7 that the lack of joy in the work of an industrialized society had caused a situation in which workers only cared about wages, thus creating class issues and unrest.12 In 1851, the world’s first international exposition, the Great Exhibition, was held in London within Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace, constructed only for the event. This exposition, like the ones that would follow, was designed to showcase the wealth of the country.