JOAN BUSQUETS I JANÉ (Barcelona, 1874 - 1949). Entrance hall bench with shelf. Modernist, ca.

JOAN BUSQUETS I JANÉ (Barcelona, 1874 - 1949).
Entrance hall bench with shelf. Modernist, ca. 1900-1910.
Walnut, mahogany, Hungarian ash, marquetry of 15 fruit woods and mother-of-pearl.
Velvet upholstered sofa.
Use marks.
Measurements: 210 x 214 x 66 cm.
This is a first class piece of furniture within Catalan modernism, and even within the production of Joan Busquets. Bench or hallway sofa, it has a monumental architectural structure. Its design is harmonious as each element is arranged symmetrically: the sofa is flanked by corner units with cupboards, and two circular corbels or shelves, one on each side of the bench, are topped by columns inspired by plants. A rectangular mirror completes the design. The whole is made of mahogany wood, decorated with carved rosettes, classical marquetry panels and mother-of-pearl inlays. Synthesised floral motifs are developed in elegant fretwork combining fruitwood and mother-of-pearl. The sofa has padded upholstery covering the inside of the armrests and a high backrest. The curved doors of the corner pieces, with a triangular section, form a line of continuity with the waist of the sofa, seeking typically modernist cut-outs that avoid any angularity or hardness. The marquetry that decorates each of the side panels, combining geometric inlay and floral designs, is inspired by Gothic motifs, for example, taking up the element of the religious mandorla but reinventing its meaning and aesthetics.
A furniture designer and decorator, Joan Busquets is now considered one of the most representative figures of Catalan Modernisme. He began his training in the family workshop and went on to study at the Llotja School in Barcelona, where his teachers were Guitart and Lostaló. In the academic year 1895-96 he was awarded a scholarship which enabled him to travel around Spain, and which he obtained thanks to a project for a Renaissance-style bookcase-cabinet. He exhibited furniture projects for the first time at the Barcelona Exhibition of 1896. Joan Busquets' workshop was one of the most outstanding in Modernista Catalonia and is today, together with the production of Gaspar Homar, the most representative example of Catalan Modernista furniture and decoration. He was president of the Foment de les Arts Decoratives between 1918 and 1921, and supervised the manufacture of the furniture for Gaudà 's Casa Calvet. Works by Busquets can currently be found in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Güell Palace in Barcelona, the National Museum of Decorative Arts and the Museum of Catalan Modernism in Barcelona, among others, as well as in various important private collections.