Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar (; 11 March 1927 – 7 April 2014) was a Spanish

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

of the late 20th century. His best known work is probably the Passion Facade of the basilica of the

Sagrada Família The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He was controversial, as he did not make any concessions to the style of the architect who designed the building,

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

. Subirachs' sculptural typography in Barcelona is featured in ''Eye'' magazine (No. 37, Vol. 10, Autumn 2000) along with the work of Joan Brossa.

Artistic works

From a young age Subirachs showed talent as an artist and he is an accomplished painter, engraver, scenic designer, sculptor, lecturer, art critic and architect. He worked in projects around the world, in different styles: Mediterranean style,

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

, new figuration. ;Main works: *1957: ''Forma 212''. Sculpture in Jardins Mundet (Barcelona) *1960: Marine evocation ("Evocació marinera"). La Barceloneta (Barcelona). *1962: Saint Michael's cross.

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat (mountain), Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat ...

*1968: Monument to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

*1969: Façades of the new building for Barcelona Town Hall *1983: ''Olimp''. Monument to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, in the CIO office,

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

(

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) *1984: Monument to Pablo Casals, Vendrell *Since 1987: Passion Façade of the

*1988: Monument to Gaspar de Portolà, Pacifica,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

*1989: Monument ''Unió d'Orient i Occident'',

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) *1991: Monument to President Macià in the Plaça Catalunya,

Recognitions

*Member of the Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, Barcelona *Corresponding Member of the Hispanic Society of America of New York *Creu de Sant Jordi of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...

*Medal of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona *Officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres of France *Personnalité de l'Année 1987, Paris *Member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid *Medalla de Honor, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel, Hungria The

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

134124 Subirachs, discovered in 2005, was named in his honour.

External links

Subirachs' website
*
Mirades, reflexions sobre la vida i obra de l'artista, Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar
� (audio). ''l'Arxiu de la Paraula''. Ateneu Barcelonès, 2014.

Notes

Sculptors from Catalonia 1927 births 2014 deaths {{Spain-sculptor-stub