Rossend Nobas

Rossend Nobas i Ballbé was a Catalan sculptor and goldsmith in the 19th century.[1] Working mainly in Barcelona, Nobas's work is to be found around the city in both museums and public areas.

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Nobas and the second or maternal family name is Ballbé; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Rossend Nobas
Rossend Nobas i Ballbé (1891)
Born1841
Barcelona
Died5 February 1891
Barcelona
NationalitySpanish
Known forSculpture
StyleNaturalism and Realism

Biography

Nobas was born in 1849.[1] His father was a tinsmith.[2] In working with his father, he was introduced to metallurgy techniques when he was quite young.[3] This training brought him into contact with the Maseria family, a connection he would maintain for his entire career.[2]

He studied under the brothers Agapit and Venanci Vallmitjana at the Escola de la Llotja.[1] This school was dedicated to teaching art.[3] There Nobas learned sculpture through studying great sculptors of the past.[2] He eventually entered the workshop of the Vallmitjana brothers.[3] After being with them and perfecting his technique, he created his own studio.[1] He trained Josep Gamot, Josep Reynés, and Manuel Fuxà, among many others.[3]

He exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1866.[2] In 1871, at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid, Nobas received a second-class medal for his work the Wounded Bullfighter.[4] His Bust of Cervantes gained an award at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873.[2]

He died unexpectedly of pneumonia in 1891.[1]

Style

While Nobas also trained in oil painting and watercolors, as was part of the typical Art Education, he specialized in sculpture.[2] His work spans large, monumental pieces, to bust portraiture. Nobas followed the naturalism and realism schools.[2] In an era before photography, naturalistic art represented the subject realistically.[5] His work was characterized by his exceptional talent as a sculptor.[4] His rendering of fine details, like lace, is unparalleled.[6]

List of art works
Statue of Mercury
Date Name of work Location
1870 Christ Crucified
1871 Wounded Bullfighter Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
1872 Bust of Cervantes
1878 Catalan Women
1879 Bust of Marià Fortuny
1879 Statue of general Josep Cabrinetty plaça major de Puigcerdà
1879 Terracotta Busts of Cervantes, Milton, and Dante
1881 Lions Vestibule of Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya
1882 Bust of Aristotle Universitat de Barcelona
1882 Saint Thomas
1883 La Dolorosa Pamplona
1883 Statue of Mercury Casino Mercantil de Barcelona
1884 Portrait Bust of Elisa Masriera Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
1885 Quadriga de l'Aurora Cascada del Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona
1888 Monument to Rafael Casanova i Comes Ronda Sant Pere, Barcelona
1888 Joan Güell i Ferrer Barcelona

References
  1. "Rossend Nobas i Ballbé". Grand Catalan Encyclopedia. Grand Catalan Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  2. Masriera Manovens, F. (1928). "Rossend Nobas : escultor vuitcentista (1849–1891)". D'ací i d'allà magazine mensual Barcelona : Editorial Catalana. Vol. 17, no. 128.
  3. "Rossend Nobas escultor vuitcentista : 1849–1891". Catalunya revista d'informació i expansió catalana Buenos Aires. Vol. 59. 1935.
  4. Roca y Roca, J. (February 8, 1891). "Nota necrològica". La Vanguardia.
  5. "Nineteenth-Century French Realism | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  6. "Rossend Nobas | Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya". museunacional.cat. November 12, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2016.

Further reading
  • DDAA. La col·lecció Raimon Casellas. Publicacions del MNAC/ Museo del Prado, 1992. ISBN 84-87317-21-9.
  • DDAA, La Gran Enciclopèdia en català. Volum 14, (2004), Barcelona, Edicions 62. ISBN 84 297 5442 3
  • SUBIRACHS i BURGAYA, Judit. L'Abadia de Montserrat. L'escultura del segle XIX a Catalunya: del romanticisme al realisme. Volum 146 de Biblioteca Abat Oliba, 1994. ISBN 8478265775.
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