Margarita Gil Roësset (3 March 1908 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

– 28 July 1932 in Las Rozas) also known as Marga Gil Roësset, was a Spanish sculptor, illustrator, and poet. She is remembered for her sculptures in the genres of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

, and

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

which were successfully exhibited at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Spain during her lifetime.

Life and career

Margarita Gil Roësset was born on 3 March 1908, in Madrid, to parents Cecilia Margot Roësset Mosquera, and Julián Gil Clemente. Her birth was complicated and the doctors predicted a premature death, but her mother refused to let her second child die, and managed to keep her alive. She had three siblings. Her older sister was Spanish publisher , and her aunt was Spanish painter

María Roësset Mosquera María Eugenia Roësset Mosquera (November 21, 1882 – October 3, 1921) was a Portuguese-born Spanish painter, known for her portraits, and nudes. She was also known by the married name María Eugenia Soriano Roësset, María Roësset, and si ...

. At age 7, she started drawing. In 1920, her sister Consuelo wrote ''El Niño de Oro'' (English: ''The Golden Boy''), and it was illustrated by Margarita. In 1923, both sisters published another story, ''Rose des Bois'' (English: ''Wood Rose'') in Paris. By age 15, Margarita improved her drawing skills and switched her focused towards sculpture. Gil Roësset had been an admirer of

Zenobia Camprubí Zenobia Camprubí Aymar (31 August 1887 – 25 October 1956) was a Spanish-born writer and poet; she was also a noted translator of the works of Rabindranath Tagore. She was born in Malgrat de Mar (province of Barcelona, Catalonia) to a ...

, the Spanish writer of Catalan and Puerto Rican descent, who also translated works by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. Camprubí was married to Spanish poet

Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

, and together the couple attended Margarita Gil Roësset's opera recital in 1932 and they were introduced to Gil Roësset through a mutual friend. Gil Roësset decided to create a bust of Camprubí, and had also expressed feelings of love towards her husband Jiménez Mantecón in her diary. She shot herself and died by suicide on 28 July 1932, in

Las Rozas de Madrid Las Rozas de Madrid (, or simply, Las Rozas ) is a municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain, with an area of 59 km² (22¾ sq. mi.). The municipality is served by three Renfe railway stations– Las Rozas, Pinar de Las ...

at the age of 24. Before her death she gave letters to members of her family and to Jiménez Mantecón. Her private diary entries about Jiménez Mantecón were published in 1997.

Publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gil Roësset, Margarita 1908 births 1932 deaths Las Sinsombrero members Spanish sculptors Spanish illustrators Spanish poets Spanish feminists Suicides by firearm in Spain