Francesc d'A. Galí: the master who taught how to look

The MNAC looks back to rediscover a figure who, despite having been present at many key moments in 20th-century Catalan art, has often been left out of the usual narrative. The new exhibition dedicated to Francesc d'A. Galí invites us to explore his career, which ranges from painting and drawing to teaching, including mural and poster projects.

Curated by Albert Mercadé and organized by the National Art Museum of Catalonia with the support of the Exile Memorial Museum , Francesc d'A. Galí. The invisible master, was born with the desire to make visible someone who, voluntarily or not, has remained in the shadows. Galí not only painted the dome of the Palau Nacional for the 1929 International Exhibition, but also trained artists such as Josep Aragay , Rafael Solanic , Francesc Vayreda , Manuel Humbert , Rafel Benet , Jaume Mercadé , Joan Miró , Llorens Artigas and EC . Ricart , becoming a key figure in understanding the artistic pedagogy of his time.

Pintures de la Sala de la Cúpula, Francesc d'A. Galí. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

The exhibition invites us to explore the many facets of a multifaceted artist. We discover the young Galí from the Els Quatre Gats circle, in contact with figures such as Casas and Rusiñol, who later evolved towards a style with symbolist and medievalist echoes, influenced by authors such as Alexandre de Riquer. Later, Galí committed himself to teaching as a tool for social transformation, first from his school on Cucurulla Street and later at the Escola Superior dels Bells Oficis, where learning linked to nature and the trades was promoted, far from the classic concept of the "fine arts".

Francesc d’A. Galí, 1900

One of the most unique exercises he proposed to his students consisted of having them go out into the Montseny without any work tools, only with “a crown of eyes on their heads”, to capture the essence of the landscape before representing it. This idea has been honored under the same dome of the MNAC, where an installation evokes this “crown”, connecting his pedagogy with the symbolic and plastic dimension of the current museum. What makes this review especially interesting is not only his work or career, but the way in which he dialogues with the present. The exhibition has been conceived with a creative direction that goes beyond simple chronology to offer new readings, adapting the values of Noucentisme to contemporary languages.

D’esquerra a dreta, darrere: Josep Maria Gol, Eduard Vergez, Ramon Sunyer, Lola Anglada, Carme Vich; a sota: Joan Mir., F. d’A. Galí i Bartomeu Ferrà, probablement, al terrat de l’Escola d’Art Galí, (1912-1914). © Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya. Fons Foto-Pic (Arxiu Pere Català)

Driven by his ideal of social communication of the arts, Galí also excelled as a poster artist, considering the poster a tool to bring art closer to the street and to convey cultural messages to a wide audience. This applied dimension of his work was particularly relevant during the interwar years, when he took on the graphic communication of various competitions and events. This aspect connects directly with his pedagogical vision and with the desire to integrate art into everyday life.

After the closure of the Escola Superior dels Bells Oficis, Galí fully resumed his pictorial activity. He starred in two exhibitions at the Sala Parés, participated in the Salons de Tardor and Primavera and was selected in two editions of the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh. During this period, his work was oriented towards Mediterranean-inspired compositions, with idyllic scenes often starring female figures in marine environments and full of lyricism.

La primavera, Francesc d’A. Galí (1931). Col·lecció particular © Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya- Guillem Fernández-Huerta

According to Mercadé, rediscovering Galí is also rediscovering a fundamental part of the history of Catalan art. For more than sixty years, no book had been published or any prominent exhibition organized about him. Furthermore, Galí is one of the few artists who actively participated in the currents that defined artistic modernity: from early modernism to the avant-gardes, passing through clearly symbolist and noucentist stages. This transversality helps to understand why his work continues to be relevant today.

The exhibition, however, does not limit itself to reviewing his legacy, but also invites us to rethink it from the present. Through the contributions in audiovisual format of historians such as Juan Carlos Bejarano , Natàlia Esquinas , Maria Jorquera and Albert Mercadé , and of critical voices such as Pilar Bonet , Eudald Carbonell , Ingrid Guardiola and Miquel Missé —all of whom are present at the exhibition—, the institutional commission for the 1929 murals is confronted with a current look at the values that Galí embodied in them: fine arts, science, land and spirituality.

Paravent de la Creació, Francesc d’A. Galí, pintor / Ramon Sarsanedas Oriol, lacador (1929). © Gasull Fotografia. Museu del Disseny – Dhub

Part of the exhibition also extends to the MUME, where until the beginning of July you can visit the chapter dedicated to Galí's years of exile in London. There, his relationship with Ithell Colquhoun , a British surrealist artist and sentimental companion, who had a decisive influence on his last vital and creative stage and to whom the MNAC dedicates a specific space, where an intense red light aims to evoke the passion, intensity and inspiration that marked his relationship with Galí, is explored.

L’anarquista, Francesc d’A. Galí (1898). Col·lecció Segimon Rovira © Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya- Guillem Fernández-Huerta