Francisco Durrio de Madrón, known as Paco Durrio (22 May 1868,

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

- 30 August 1940,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a Spanish sculptor,

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

and goldsmith; of French descent. He worked in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

styles.

Life and work

His father was a basket maker from France and the family name was originally "Durrieu".''Paco: El mejor amigo de otros artistas''
@ Modernismo98y14 He received his initial training in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, then went to Madrid in 1881, where he trained with the sculptor, . In 1888, he moved to Paris; joining a group of artists centered around

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

and, from 1893 to 1895, sharing a studio with him. During this time, he was largely involved with ceramics. His first solo exhibit took place in 1896 and, in 1900, he participated in a major Modernist exhibition in Bilbao. In 1901, he moved into a studio in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, which was taken over by

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 ...

in 1904. That year, he built his own home nearby and installed a huge ceramic

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

. He would live there until 1939. He helped Picasso create his first ceramic works in 1905.''Julio González, collection du Musée national d'art moderne'', (Brigitte Léal, Ed.) Éditions

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou in the 4th arrondissement of the city. In 2021 it ranked 10th in ...

, 2007, After 1905, he began work on a memorial to the composer,

Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...

but, rather than portraying the composer himself, he chose to depict the muse,

Melpomene In Greek mythology, Melpomene (; grc, Μελπομένη, Melpoménē, to sing' or 'the one that is melodious), initially the muse of chorus, eventually became the muse of tragedy, and is now best known in that association. Etymology Melp ...

, playing a lyre. As a result, the statue was not erected until almost thirty years later, in 1933. Overall, the most positive criticism was reserved for his ceramics. He was also a devoted art collector; acquiring numerous works by his contemporaries, including a large number by Gauguin. He died poor and almost forgotten in a Paris hospital. In 1945, after the war, a major retrospective was held at the

Salon d’Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The f ...

and a large selection of his jewelry went on display at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London. In 2013, the

Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum (Spanish: ''Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao'', Basque: ''Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa'') is an art museum located in the city of Bilbao, Spain. The building of the museum is located entirely inside the city's Doña Casild ...

held another retrospective that included pieces from his art collection.

References

External links

More works by Durrio
@ Euskadi
More works by Durrio
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Durrio, Paco 1868 births 1940 deaths Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors Spanish ceramists Spanish people of French descent Spanish emigrants to France People from Valladolid

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links