FRANCESC VIDAL JEVELLÃ (Barcelona, 1848 - 1914). Modernist coffee table. Mahogany wood, bronze
FRANCESC VIDAL JEVELLÃ (Barcelona, 1848 - 1914).
Modernist coffee table.
Mahogany wood, bronze, cloisonné enamel and Tiffany glass beads.
With plaque with the artist's name.
Measurements: 54 x 116 x 71 cm.
Modernist table with carved, moulded and turned mahogany wood structure, wrought iron fasteners designed by Francesc Vidal. Top made of mahogany wood, bronze and decorated with cloisonné enamel and thousands of Tiffany glass beads. The pieces of Tiffany glass were glued one by one to make the drawing. This piece was made in the workshops of Vidal and Jevelli, at the end of the Alfonsina period and the beginning of Spanish Modernism. These pieces are unique due to the great complexity of their execution. In European Art Nouveau only Morris in the United Kingdom made some furniture with this technique. The structure is inspired by the old Spanish baroque tables, and thus we see four turned legs, inclined and connected to each other by means of footings and to the tabletop by means of braces. The legs are helically turned and enhanced by mouldings, and the curved legs are decorated with rosettes carved in relief. The tabletop is enhanced by a perimeter of stepped mouldings, and is decorated with a classical structure, strictly arranged in bands. The centre of the panel is left free, in a mottled blue tone, which matches the mouldings of the outer border. The two intermediate bands are decorated with borders of flowers, leaves and stems in shades of gold, red and green.
Francesc Vidal was one of the most prominent artists and decorators in the city of Barcelona in the late 19th century, being one of the first professionals to promote craftsmanship within the nascent Catalan aestheticism and modernism. One of the key events in understanding his personality and his innovative character was his stay at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where he travelled to direct the exhibition of his father's bookbinding samples. In addition to witnessing the birth of Japonisme in the French capital, Vidal made contact with other young artists and stayed in the city to study at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, where his teacher was Louvrier de Lajolais. From Paris he also made a series of trips around Europe that enabled him to become acquainted with the artistic practices that were being promoted in the great capitals of the continent. He finally returned to Barcelona with the desire to modernise and Europeanise a city that was still too tied to tradition, introducing novelties such as the Japanese influence in interior decoration and the decorative arts. In 1878 he established himself as an art dealer, and in 1883 he inaugurated a building designed by Vilaseca, an unusual polytechnic complex, where he would work intensively from then on in the production of quality furniture, as well as glassware, metalwork and foundry complements. Rigalt and Masriera collaborated in his studio in the foundry, and Joan González, Gaspar Homar and Santiago Marco worked as designers. Vidal's clientele included the gentry and official corporations, and he made the furniture designed by Gaudà for the Güell Palace. He was also in charge of other important projects such as the decoration of Mayor Rius i Taulet, several rooms of the Cà rculo del Liceo and also royal commissions such as the bedrooms of the Royal Palace in Madrid and the cradle for the future Alfonso XIII. In fact, his works were in demand not only on the Peninsula, but also in America, which led Vidal to expand his business by forming a partnership with Frederic Masriera Manovens, and later to open shops in Madrid and Paris. Vidal exerted a great influence on the society of his time, and practised patronage with talented young artists such as Pau Casals, Isaac Albéniz, C. G. Vidiella, etc. Simón Gómez, in his portrait of this outstanding cabinetmaker, painted perhaps the best portraits of
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FRANCESC VIDAL JEVELLÃ (Barcelona, 1848 - 1914).
Modernist coffee table.
Mahogany wood, bronze, cloisonné enamel and Tiffany glass beads.
With plaque with the artist's name.
Measurements: 54 x 116 x 71 cm.
Modernist table with carved, moulded and turned mahogany wood structure, wrought iron fasteners designed by Francesc Vidal. Top made of mahogany wood, bronze and decorated with cloisonné enamel and thousands of Tiffany glass beads. The pieces of Tiffany glass were glued one by one to make the drawing. This piece was made in the workshops of Vidal and Jevelli, at the end of the Alfonsina period and the beginning of Spanish Modernism. These pieces are unique due to the great complexity of their execution. In European Art Nouveau only Morris in the United Kingdom made some furniture with this technique. The structure is inspired by the old Spanish baroque tables, and thus we see four turned legs, inclined and connected to each other by means of footings and to the tabletop by means of braces. The legs are helically turned and enhanced by mouldings, and the curved legs are decorated with rosettes carved in relief. The tabletop is enhanced by a perimeter of stepped mouldings, and is decorated with a classical structure, strictly arranged in bands. The centre of the panel is left free, in a mottled blue tone, which matches the mouldings of the outer border. The two intermediate bands are decorated with borders of flowers, leaves and stems in shades of gold, red and green.
Francesc Vidal was one of the most prominent artists and decorators in the city of Barcelona in the late 19th century, being one of the first professionals to promote craftsmanship within the nascent Catalan aestheticism and modernism. One of the key events in understanding his personality and his innovative character was his stay at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867, where he travelled to direct the exhibition of his father's bookbinding samples. In addition to witnessing the birth of Japonisme in the French capital, Vidal made contact with other young artists and stayed in the city to study at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, where his teacher was Louvrier de Lajolais. From Paris he also made a series of trips around Europe that enabled him to become acquainted with the artistic practices that were being promoted in the great capitals of the continent. He finally returned to Barcelona with the desire to modernise and Europeanise a city that was still too tied to tradition, introducing novelties such as the Japanese influence in interior decoration and the decorative arts. In 1878 he established himself as an art dealer, and in 1883 he inaugurated a building designed by Vilaseca, an unusual polytechnic complex, where he would work intensively from then on in the production of quality furniture, as well as glassware, metalwork and foundry complements. Rigalt and Masriera collaborated in his studio in the foundry, and Joan González, Gaspar Homar and Santiago Marco worked as designers. Vidal's clientele included the gentry and official corporations, and he made the furniture designed by Gaudà for the Güell Palace. He was also in charge of other important projects such as the decoration of Mayor Rius i Taulet, several rooms of the Cà rculo del Liceo and also royal commissions such as the bedrooms of the Royal Palace in Madrid and the cradle for the future Alfonso XIII. In fact, his works were in demand not only on the Peninsula, but also in America, which led Vidal to expand his business by forming a partnership with Frederic Masriera Manovens, and later to open shops in Madrid and Paris. Vidal exerted a great influence on the society of his time, and practised patronage with talented young artists such as Pau Casals, Isaac Albéniz, C. G. Vidiella, etc. Simón Gómez, in his portrait of this outstanding cabinetmaker, painted perhaps the best portraits of
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