Name Josep Clara | ||
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El MEAM redescobreix l’obra de l’escultor Josep Clarà gràcies al Museu de la Garrotxa
Josep Clara i Ayats (1878–1958) was a Spanish Catalan sculptor.
Clara was born in Olot, Girona, Catalonia (Spain) in 1878. He attended the Olot School of Drawing (Escuela de Dibujo de Olot) with professor Josep Berga i Boix (1837–1914). During Clara's time at the school, Joaquin Vayreda (1843–1894) highly praised one of Clara's drawings; this greatly encouraged Clara's artistic endeavors and was one of his happiest childhood memories. In 1897, Clara enrolled in the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse, France. He moved to Paris in 1890, where he met Auguste Rodin, which caused him to pursue sculpture. He also became close friends with sculptor Aristides Maillol. He was a student of Louis-Ernest Barrias. His sketches of dancer Isadora Duncan's distinct movements stand out among Clara's work. After Duncan's death in 1927, Antonia Merce instead served as Clara's model. Clara's training was capped off with travels to London and Italy.
He returned to Paris, where he distinguished himself as a sculpture. A part of "mediterraneismo", his work was figurative, solid, and compact. He put on numerous exhibitions of his work in Paris, London, Berlin, and Barcelona. In 1932, he moved permanently to Barcelona. There he continued working and exhibiting until his death on November 4, 1958. His last sculpture was "Estatica" (1954–1958).
Most of his works are now held by the Museu Comarcal de la Garrotxa in Olot and by the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona. Other works are held by the Pompidou Centre (Paris), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Santiago de Chile, Chile), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Havana, Cuba), Musee des Augustins (Toulouse, France), and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Madrid).