Pau Gargallo
Gargallo began his career as a sculptor when Modernisme was at its height, and consequently his early works can be said to pertain to this movement, above all his participation in emblematic buildings such as the Palau de la Música and the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona. However, his style would gradually evolve in two clear directions, exemplified by his representations of the human body-which he approached with a great sense of plasticity, under the influence of the classicism adopted by Noucentisme-and by his approximation to the avant-garde via the use of new materials and the pursuit of new forms of expression. His contributions to the use of iron, which he cut and welded in new ways, and his introduction of the void as a volumetric element, have made Gargallo one of the leading exponents of modern sculpture. Both characteristics can be appreciated in Grand Ballerina and Grand Bacchante, sculptures that capture the synthesis of his art.
