6 - MARCEL MARTÍ BADENES (Alvear, Argentina, 1925–Girona, 2020).

MARCEL MARTÍ BADENES (Alvear, Argentina, 1925–Girona, 2020). Untitled, 1979. Marble sculpture. Signed and dated. Measurements: 41 x 74 x 42 cm. Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. Having lived with his family in Barcelona since he was three years old, Marcel Martí studied at the La Lonja School of Fine Arts. He began his artistic career as a painter in 1942, but in 1953 he abandoned painting to devote himself entirely to sculpture. He held his first solo exhibition in 1948 at the Sala Caralt in Barcelona. Thanks to the success of that exhibition, Martí was able to travel to Paris, where he became part of the city’s artistic circles. At the Grande Chaumière Academy, he studied under Zadkine and Lothe. In 1950, he traveled through Sweden and Italy, where he was deeply impressed by the work of Michelangelo, whom Marcel Martí regarded as the epitome of a complete artist. Among his awards, the Manolo Hugué Sculpture Prize (1958) stands out, and he has exhibited his work in Spain, Europe, the United States, and Japan. His work is represented at the Museum of Abstract Sculpture on La Castellana in Madrid; the Salvador Allende Museum in Chile; the museums of contemporary art in Vilafamés, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Ibiza; the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca; and the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastián, among many others.