Manuel Martinez Hugué, known as Manolo (182-1945) - Lot 204

Manuel Martinez Hugué, known as Manolo (182-1945) The Aragonese Circa 1926 Terracotta proof Bears a label "GALERIE SIMON / 29 BIS, Rue d'Astorg / PARIS (VIIIe) / 1926 / 9433 / Manolo / L'Aragonais / 10 Epr./ Photo N°4556". Bears a "DOUANE CENTRALE PARIS" label inside. H. 32 cm Provenance: Galerie Simon, Paris; Collection of the family of the painter Claudio Castelucho-Diana; by descent, Paris Related works : - Manuel Martinez Hugué dit Manolo, L'Aragonais, 1923-1926, terracotta, H. 31 cm, private collection; - Manuel Martinez Hugué dit Manolo, L'Aragonais, 1926, terracotta, no. 2/10, 31 x 22 x 16 cm, Barcelona, private collection, exhibited at Galerie Simon (Paris) and the 1928 Venice Biennale. Related literature: -Montserrat Blanch, Monolo: sculpture, peintures, dessins, Paris, Éditions Cercle d'art, 1974, terracotta model listed under no. 110, p. 74 ; - Manolo Hugué, cat. exp. Barcelona, Museum of Modern Art, February 16-April 15, 1990, Catalonia, Fundacion Caixa da Catalounya, 1990, clay model listed under no. 51, pp. 116-117. After a difficult childhood in Cuba and Barcelona, Manuel Martínez Hugué, known as Manolo, worked at the Masriera foundry at the end of the 19th century, where he met many sculptors. In 1901, he made the trip to Paris, where he befriended the artists of Montmartre and Montparnasse. A hard worker, he was a regular visitor to the Louvre. In 1910, he moved to Céret in the eastern Pyrenees. There he met Pablo Picasso, Pablo Gargallo, Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse. Although his art was marked by his association with the avant-garde artists of the early 20th century, he remained faithful to figurative painting. His works can be found in some of the world's greatest museums, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Barcelona's Museum of Contemporary Art. Galerie Simon is the second gallery of the renowned art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Born in Germany, Kahnwuiler's assets were sequestered in 1914. He closed his first Paris gallery and went into exile in Switzerland to avoid conscription and the obligation to fight under the German flag. Back in Paris in 1920, he opened a new gallery on rue d'Astorg in the name of his new partner, Galerie Simon. Manolo was under contract to Kahnweiler from 1912 to 1933. L'Aragonais, dated 1926, is one of the Catalan sculptor's works published by Kahnweiler and presented by Galerie Simon.