Beauty models. The old Museum of Artistic Reproductions

Maricel Museum
15^th December 2023 – 13^th October 2024
Curated by Ignasi Domènech

Maricel Museum presents the exhibition Beauty models. The old Museum of Artistic Reproductions, an exhibition that brings together 200 pieces of furniture, glass, painting, sculpture, porcelain, ceramics, enamel, plaster and mosaic, which made up this collection created at the end of the 19th century to bring art closer to population as a whole. A prominent part of this old museum forms part of the Palau de Maricel fund and constitutes the central axis of the exhibition. The exhibition, organized by Museus de Sitges, is curated by Ignasi Domènech and can be seen until October 13 next year.

In 1890, Barcelona City Council created the Museum of Reproductions of Barcelona, ​​initially named the Museum of Artistic Reproductions, Architecture, Sculpture and Sumptuous Arts. This initiative sought to gather reproductions of some of the great works of universal art so that they could be contemplated and admired by popular classes, in an era in which tourism and the possibilities of traveling and accessing  the culture were limited. The creation of the museum represented one of the most ambitious and modern intellectual projects in Catalonia at the end of the 19th century, as well as one of the most impressive bets to promote the spread of art among the population as a whole .

The Museum exhibited pieces of architecture, sculpture, ceramics, glass, mosaic, enamel, jewellery, furniture and fabrics, plus many other items.  It even incorporated a specialized library, which is the origin of the current National Art History Library, currently the Folch i Torres Library, at the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

The historical context. The Museum of Reproductions in Barcelona followed the parameters of other reproduction museums that proliferated in Europe throughout the 19th century, some included as sections of other national museums. It was about reproducing copies of great works – not necessarily paintings and sculptures – of universal art and making them available to the population as a whole.

For Barcelona, ​​the policy of creating museums from scratch (unlike Madrid and other cities that were state capitals, there were no historical collections here), proposed the creation of a museum based on quality reproductions that could serve, like the originals, to show the forms – and the spirit that emerged from them – of a wide range of artistic subjects.

From today's perspective, it can be difficult to understand what the purpose of such institutions was, since there is a tendency to appreciate above all the existence of the original. In the nineteenth century, however, copies had a very specific value and function. Artistically, they were appreciated because they were made by professional sculptors who achieved a result of great detail and quality.

At the same time, it was important that the reproductions provided quality models for the powerful Catalan industry. With the Industrial Revolution, when the concept of design did not yet exist, unsightly objects began to be produced, in contrast to the remarkable creations of artisans. It was considered essential that decorative products were manufactured that were both useful and beautiful, and that Catalan factories could compete with those in the big European cities.

Finally, following pedagogical principles, the works were considered a good method for Fine Arts students to learn about the artistic manifestations of the past and be inspired by them. It is for this reason that the reproduction museums were closely linked to the academies, which were the most important centers of artistic training at the time. Likewise, the copies also served to educate the general public and acquire knowledge of Art History.

The Museum of Reproductions of Barcelona. The Barcelona City Council, under the mandate of mayor Francesc Rius i Taulet (1872 – 1889), created several artistic and archaeological museums in the old pavilions of the Universal Exhibition. The most important and largest was the Palau de la Indústria, now gone, which consisted of a fan-shaped floor plan with a central pavilion. It is here where it was decided to locate the Museum of Reproductions of Barcelona, ​​founded in 1890. It was one of the first three public museums in the city, along with the Museum of Fine Arts and the Archaeological Museum (which from 1892 would be called the History Museum).

The idea of ​​founding a Museum of Reproductions in Barcelona had its origin in several articles by Francesc Miquel i Badia, between 1870 and 1889. Finally, the City Council inaugurated the Museum on Saint Peter's Day in 1891. It was managed by same council during the first years and in 1907 it passed into the hands of the Museums Board.

The life of the Museum, however, had obstacles from very beginning. In 1902, the City Council dismantled its headquarters and collections were scattered. In the following years, it had several locations and was the protagonist of different frustrated projects, until in 1935 part of its funds were allocated to the Palau de Maricel, which had been empty since 1921, due to the departure of its promoter and owner, American collector Charles Deering.

The rest of the collections that were not moved to Sitges ended up disappearing. Only what reached the Palau de Maricel survived of what was the Museum of Reproductions in Barcelona, ​​exhibited in various rooms and spaces of the building.

The exhibition Sitges Museums organized the retrospective and monographic exhibition Beauty models. The old Museum of Artistic Reproductions, which emphasizes an important episode in our history of museums. The exhibition is made with a selection of the works in the Palau de Maricel, in addition to 18 pieces of plaster, which come from the Higher School of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets of Catalonia. They are also works from the collection of the Museum of Reproductions, which were stored in the Palau Nacional (now the National Museum of Art of Catalonia), and which were brought to the School in 1992.

All the reproductions in the Museum of Reproductions in Barcelona – and therefore also those displayed in this exhibition – were made in the 19th century, and the vast majority of them between 1870 and 1890. The works and objects presented, therefore, are about 135 years old and are already true antiques. In the cases where the authorship is known, it could be artists (Paul Soyer, Georges Pull, Janvier Chiurazzi...) or manufactures, often family ones (Fligli di Giuseppe Cantagalli, Compagnia Venezia Murano, O. Madrassi ...).

The exhibition Beauty models. The old Museum of Artistic Reproductions presents 200 pieces, of which 80 are glass works, in most cases by the Compagnia Veneziana Murano Salviati & Co. Vases and glasses predominate, but there are also jugs, jugs or bottles.

The exhibition also exhibits around fifty ceramic pieces, especially bowls and vases with naturalistic motifs. The glazes, on the other hand, reproduce pieces that are copies of originals from the Louvre or others that follow the models of the Limoges workshops.

Among the furniture on display are wardrobes, chests of drawers and chests of drawers, while the paintings include reproductions of frescoes from the Basilica of Sant Francesc d'Assís and mosaics from Sant Vidal de Ravenna. Among the sculptures there are copies of David himself or of Pere III the Ceremonious from the Treasury Museum of the Cathedral of Girona, among many others.