On the occasion of World Modernism Day, Dr Judith Urbano, dean of the Faculty of Humanities of UIC Barcelona, gave a lecture entitled “Decorative Arts and their Artisans in Catalan Modernisme.”  The session was part of the third edition of the series of conferences organised by the Faculty this year with Cases Singulars.

Urban centred her presentation on decorative arts such as sculpture, furniture or posters, and the main artists who worked in the different modernist houses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. “At that time, each object of everyday life was considered a work of art,” the expert explained.

The teacher reviewed the work of Gaspar Homar, who made much of the furniture for the houses of the Catalan bourgeoisie; Alphonse Mucha, the Czech illustrator who worked for the chocolate brand Atmaller; Eusebi Arnau, the great sculptor of the movement and present in many of the best examples of modernist buildings in the city; and René Lalique, who infused his jewellery with great symbolism and who influenced the Masriera brothers in Barcelona.

This session is the third and final conference of the 2023-2024 academic year series. The other sessions that took place this year coincided with the celebrations of World Urban Planning Day, 8 November, and International Women’s Day, 8 March.

The UIC Barcelona Faculty of Humanities and Cases Singulars will offer a new series of conferences open to the public in the coming academic year.