Josep Aragay was one of the founders of the Guild of Applied Arts in 1914, which was set up with the aim of recovering artistic crafts, such as ceramics. He produced his first pieces under the tutelage of Francesc Quer. The pieces decorated by Aragay were inspired by 17th-century Catalan ceramics, with iconography full of solitary, melancholic figures set in idealised and picturesque landscapes.
In 1915 Aragay exhibited his ceramics at the Laietanes Galleries in Barcelona, with a collection that was well received by the public and critics alike and which established his status as one of the country’s top ceramists.
On his return from a journey to Italy lasting almost a year (1916-1917), Aragay refined his style and embraced typically Mediterranean themes. From that point onwards, Aragay’s ceramics are decorated with kind figures labouring under a sky filled with swallows and surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. In 1918, he decorated the tiles of the Fountain in Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona, which is considered one of the treasures of Noucentist ceramics. In the same year, he began teaching ceramics at the Escola Superior dels Bells Oficis (Advanced College of Artisan Crafts).
In 1925, he founded a ceramics workshop in Breda, where he worked tirelessly to resolve various issues related to clay, moulds, glazes, firing the pieces and applying colours through the application of enamels and slip. The ceramics of Breda were exhibited and sold all over the country until production had to be halted due to the onset of the Civil War. A selection of Aragay’s best pieces can be seen in the museum’s display cases.
NOTABLE CERAMICS
El pa (The Bread), 1928
One of the museum’s most representative multicoloured ceramic pieces is El pa, an original vase measuring 73 x 28 centimetres made by Aragay in 1928. The figurative composition is dominated by ochre tones organized in horizontal ranges depicting, for instance, oxen working the land, a day of reaping crops, and different parts of the process of making bread. There are also ornamental elements that depict wheat. This iconic piece was created embracing the full creative spirit of Noucentisme.
Vase for the Fountain of Santa Anna in Barcelona, 1918
One of the best-known pieces of Josep Aragay’s work is the set of tiles that decorate the Fountain of Santa Anna, on the avenue of Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona (1918). This is one of the most highly valued works of Noucentist ceramics. The museum in Breda conserves one of the original vases that Aragay designed to crown the fountain. Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman pottery, the price is glazed in green enamel and manganese, and decorated with fruit and a relief of a cavalier on the front.
El pa or El blat, Josep Aragay, 1928. Ceramic vase. Josep Aragay Municipal Museum. Breda.
Ceramic vase to decorate the cornice of the Fountain of Santa Anna in Barcelona, Josep Aragay, 1918. Josep Aragay Municipal Museum. Breda.
Josep Aragay was one of the founders of the Guild of Applied Arts in 1914, which was set up with the aim of recovering artistic crafts, such as ceramics. He produced his first pieces under the tutelage of Francesc Quer. The pieces decorated by Aragay were inspired by 17th-century Catalan ceramics, with iconography full of solitary, melancholic figures set in idealised and picturesque landscapes.
In 1915 Aragay exhibited his ceramics at the Laietanes Galleries in Barcelona, with a collection that was well received by the public and critics alike and which established his status as one of the country’s top ceramists.
On his return from a journey to Italy lasting almost a year (1916-1917), Aragay refined his style and embraced typically Mediterranean themes. From that point onwards, Aragay’s ceramics are decorated with kind figures labouring under a sky filled with swallows and surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. In 1918, he decorated the tiles of the Fountain in Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona, which is considered one of the treasures of Noucentist ceramics. In the same year, he began teaching ceramics at the Escola Superior dels Bells Oficis (Advanced College of Artisan Crafts).
In 1925, he founded a ceramics workshop in Breda, where he worked tirelessly to resolve various issues related to clay, moulds, glazes, firing the pieces and applying colours through the application of enamels and slip. The ceramics of Breda were exhibited and sold all over the country until production had to be halted due to the onset of the Civil War. A selection of Aragay’s best pieces can be seen in the museum’s display cases.
NOTABLE CERAMICS
El pa (The Bread), 1928
One of the museum’s most representative multicoloured ceramic pieces is El pa, an original vase measuring 73 x 28 centimetres made by Aragay in 1928. The figurative composition is dominated by ochre tones organized in horizontal ranges depicting, for instance, oxen working the land, a day of reaping crops, and different parts of the process of making bread. There are also ornamental elements that depict wheat. This iconic piece was created embracing the full creative spirit of Noucentisme.
El pa or El blat, Josep Aragay, 1928. Ceramic vase. Josep Aragay Municipal Museum. Breda.
Vase for the Fountain of Santa Anna in Barcelona, 1918
One of the best-known pieces of Josep Aragay’s work is the set of tiles that decorate the Fountain of Santa Anna, on the avenue of Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona (1918). This is one of the most highly valued works of Noucentist ceramics. The museum in Breda conserves one of the original vases that Aragay designed to crown the fountain. Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman pottery, the price is glazed in green enamel and manganese, and decorated with fruit and a relief of a cavalier on the front.
Ceramic vase to decorate the cornice of the Fountain of Santa Anna in Barcelona, Josep Aragay, 1918. Josep Aragay Municipal Museum. Breda.
