Great Prophet - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

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Great Prophet

Gargallo, Pablo

Maella, Saragossa, 05/01/1881-Reus, Tarragona, 28/12/1934

Bronze

234 x 77 x 46 cm

P. GARGALLO (right hand corner, on the reverse)

1933

Second quarter of the 20th century

82/266

Acquired in 1975

Great Prophet is the most monumental of sculptures made by Gargallo and one of the most emblematic of his entire production and, for that matter, of Spanish sculpture in the first half of the 20th century. A total of seven copies of this sculpture have survived, cast in bronze, which feature in museums and collections all over the world. This piece, produced during the last phase of the sculptor's career, is exultantly rhythmic. In fact, from a formal point of view, Gargallo's discovery of the internal rhythm of sculpture constituted one of his greatest artistic achievements. Great Prophet introduces the void as a key plastic element in a language made up of volumes and curved lines.

Gargallo, regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary sculpture, introduced metal-formerly considered a secondary material-into sculptural practice, and went on to explore its wealth of expressive possibilities. The closest precedent is to be found in Art Nouveau works in iron that he had become familiar with in Barcelona at the turn of the 19th century. As a result of his sojourn in Paris between 1909 and 1915 and of his close friendship with Picasso, the breaking down of form that characterised Cubism entered Gargallo's work and marked the onset of his most distinctive style. [Santiago Arcediano]

Selected bibliography

  • Gargallo [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, Galería Theo, 1975. pp. 57, 72, il.
  • Bengoechea, Javier de. Catálogo de arte moderno y contemporáneo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, 1980. p. 143. (Con el título El gran profeta).
  • De Picasso a Bacon : arte contemporáneo en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Segovia, Museo de Arte Contemporánea Esteban Vicente, 1999. pp. 80-81.
  • Entre la figuración y la abstracción : arte contemporáneo en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Pamplona, Museo de Navarra, 1999. pp. 64-65.
  • Pablo Gargallo [Cat. exp.]. Valencia, IVAM, 2004. pp. 28-29, 36-37, 48-51, 80-81, 320-321, 354-355, 372-373, 375-376, 383.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 158.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 158.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 158.
  • Pablo Gargallo [Cat. exp.]. Donostia-San Sebastián, Kutxa Fundazioa = Fundación Kutxa, 2007. pp. 86-87, 125.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 161, n° cat. 113.
  • Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 161, n° 113.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 161.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 161.
  • Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 100-101, il.
  • Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 100-101, il.
  • Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 100-101, il.
  • Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 100-101, il.
  • 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 252-253, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 252-253, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 252-253, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 252-253, sin n° cat.