Manuel Martinez Hugué, better known simply as Manolo (29 April 1872 – 17 November 1945), was a Catalan Spanish sculptor in the

noucentisme Noucentisme in Catalonia (, ''noucentista'' being its adjective) was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception ...

movement. Although a friend of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, his style was much closer to that of

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford University P ...

Biography

Manolo was born in Barcelona in 1872, the son of a general who soon abandoned his child to go fight in the

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...

, and of a mother who died when Manolo was still young. He was friends with Pablo Picasso and a part of the circle at the 4 Gats, and lived in Paris from 1900 to 1909, where he was one of the people welcoming Picasso and introducing him to the artistic circles of the city. He was one of Picasso’s closest friends at the

Bateau Lavoir The Bateau-Lavoir ("Washhouse Boat") is the nickname of a building in the Montmartre district of the 18th arrondissement of Paris that is famous in art history as the residence and meeting place for a group of outstanding early 20th-century artis ...

, together with people like

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

and

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

. In Paris, Manolo mostly worked on small sculptures and on jewellery to make a living. He was married to Jeanne de Rochette, known as Totote, a barmaid from around Montmartre, in or shortly before 1910. They had an adopted daughter Rosa Jordana, called Rosita. Both Rosita and Totote were drawn in pencil by Picasso in 1954. In 1910, together with Frank Burty Haviland and

Déodat de Séverac Marie-Joseph Alexandre Déodat de Séverac (; 20 July 1872 – 24 March 1921) was a French composer. Life Séverac was born in Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, Haute-Garonne. He descended from a noble family, profoundly influenced by the musical trad ...

he went to

Céret Céret (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of the historic Catalan comarca of Vallespir. Geography The town lies in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, in southern France. ...

, soon followed for short or long periods by most of the Cubist artists, including Picasso,

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

, Max Jacob and

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

. He installed himself in the cloister bought by Burty Haviland, where Picasso took over the first floor. He started working on larger sculptures, including the Monument for Déodat de Séverac in 1923, and a Monument for the Dead in 1924. Due to health problems, mainly

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

, he again had to scale back his work. Manolo stayed in Céret until 1928, when he moved back to Spain, to the spa town

Caldes de Montbui Caldes de Montbui in Catalan or Caldas de Montbui in Spanish, is a Spanish town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia. It is situated in the upper valley of the Caldes river, and the highest point of the munici ...

, the birth town of his grandmother, seeking relief for his arthritis. He was supported by Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler from 1912 until 1933, and participated in the 1913

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

. Many group and individual exhibitions followed. He was made a member of the

Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi The Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi (, in English "Royal Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George") is a Catalan art school located in Barcelona. The president is the architect Jordi Bonet i Armengol. The institution was ...

. In 1932, he had a large solo exhibition at the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

in Paris. Manolo died in the spa town of

, on 17 November 1945. After his death, his widow Totote stayed for a while with the Comte and Comtesse de Lazerme, rich art patrons from

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

, and lived otherwise at the Manolo house in Caldes, until her death in 1971. Manolo’s house in Caldes has been turned into the Museu

Thermalia Thermalia is a thematic centre dedicated to the hot spring culture and is found in Caldes de Montbui (Catalonia). The Thermalia Museum is located in a building dating back to Medieval times and until the 1970s it served as a hospital and thermal ba ...

, housing the Manolo Fund, which includes apart from works by and information on Manolo, also about 100 works by Picasso. The personal papers of Manolo Hugué are preserved in the

Biblioteca de Catalunya The Library of Catalonia ( ca, Biblioteca de Catalunya, ) is the Catalan national library, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The primary mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalan bibliographic producti ...

In popular fiction

In the 2013 Spanish film , Manolo is played by

Jordi Vilches Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron s ...

Notes

External links

Personal papers of Manolo Hugué in Biblioteca de Catalunya
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manolo 1872 births 1945 deaths People from Barcelona Sculptors from Catalonia 20th-century sculptors People of Montmartre

Biography

In popular fiction

Notes

Further reading

External links