JOSEP CLARÀ I AYATS (Olot, Girona, 1878 - Barcelona, 1958). "The Slave", 1926. Patinated bronze sculpture, copy 2/8. Signed and numbered. Edition limited to 8. A copy of the same model is in the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza collection. Exhibitions: "A la recerca de la llibertat: Barcelona-Paris 1900-1960". Dau Al Set Gallery, Barcelona. Measurements: 82 cm. height. With this work, Josep Clarà took the postulates of Noucentisme to his personal terrain, achieving a timeless and modern image at the same time. The young woman shows herself without modesty, but preserves an invisible veil of mystery. Her gesture is sensual and yet lacks the slightest mannerism. Her curves are restrained, far from excessive voluptuousness, and at the same time they refer us to classical typologies, of Greek origin. Noucentisme, an ideological-aesthetic movement that arose in Catalonia at the beginning of the 20th century as a reaction to "fin de siècle" modernism, opposed the Eighteenth-century mentality with a desire for rigor and a classicism that looked to the past for its models to imitate. Thus, its essential values will be order, clarity and moderation. Contrary to the naturalism, psychologism and sentimentalism of the 19th century, he sought the lucid creation of a Mediterranean spirit, as opposed to fin-de-siècle decadentism. Clará brought to its peak the materialization of the longed-for Mediterranean typology. Josep Clarà began his training at the School of Drawing in Olot, with Josep Berga i Boix, and later studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse, France. After finishing his studies, he went to Paris in 1890, where he worked in the workshop of Louis Barrias and met Maillol, Bourdelle and Rodin. In fact, the advice of the latter helped him to overcome the modernist influences of his early works. In 1907 he presented at the Salon des Artistes Français the work "Torment", a work that denotes a Rodinian influence that in his marble "Twilight" (1913, Museo de Santiago de Chile), whose plaster model he presented at the Salon de la Société Nationale in 1908, is diluted in favor of a greater clarity and serenity. The following year he presented what would be the first of his goddesses, a work that finally represented the definitive official recognition of his talent. During these years, his friendship with the dancer Isadora Duncan allowed him to create his most original and spontaneous drawings; the dynamism of dance did not contradict his search for stability, and brought him a serene light and vivacity. A tireless worker, he received several commissions for monuments, such as "Serenity on the ruins of life" (San Isidro cemetery, Madrid) and "Monument to the Catalan volunteers" (Ciutadella Park, Barcelona). With the model of the latter he won the grand prize in Paris in 1925. At the end of that same year he was appointed member of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. Clarà also made heads and portraits, where he showed a condensed and lively language: "Voluntad" (1911), "Clara Stuart Merrill" (1926), "Adela" (1936), "Señorita Rodríguez Bauzà" (1941). As time went by, the sculptor gave more and more importance to light, and his sculptures became simpler, freeing himself from all sentiment, as can be seen in his first "Static", from 1926. With this new vision, in 1928 he reinterpreted "Diosa" and "Serenidad" (Montjuic garden, Barcelona), and created "Reposo" (MACBA), which won him the medal of honor at the International Exhibition of Barcelona (1929). In 1930 Clarà traveled to Greece; two years later he left his residence in Paris and settled permanently in Barcelona. In 1934 he was awarded the Damià Campeny prize for "Desnudo de muchacha". In 1936 he created one of his best works, for the synthesis of simplicity, light and serenity: "Pujanza". He is also the author of the "Monumento a los caídos" (1952) in Barcelona. With the nude "Pomona" (Museum of Havana) he won the grand prize at the 1954 Hispano-American Biennial. In 1946 he made a "San Benito" (Montserrat) that oriented him towards the study of the seated figure. Thus, his last works will be mainly seated maternities and lying figures. In 1969 was inaugurated in Barcelona the museum that bears his name, where a large part of his work is preserved. His work is also present in the Museo Comarcal de la Garrotxa in Olot and in the MNAC.