An exhibition recalls the work of Pierrette Gargallo, the artist’s daughter, to preserve and revalue her father’s work
The family of Pablo Gargallo (1881-1934) donated more than 1800 personal documents of the great Aragonese sculptor to his museum in Zaragoza. Part of the donation is now on display in an exhibition dedicated to Pierrette Gargallo (1922-2019), the artist’s daughter, guardian and supporter of his legacy, and great benefactor of the museum. The sample, free and on display until September 4, showcases 170 pieces, including works by Gargallo and his daughter, documents, photographs, letters, press releases or theses.
It is a look back at Pierrette’s life, both in her role as an artist, and in her work to preserve her father’s work and her relationship with him. Colleague of Picasso, Juan Gris, Marc Chagall or Miró in the fizz of the Parisian avant-garde, great master of metal and standard-bearer of the Spanish avant-garde, Gargallo died when his daughter was 12 years old. Pierrette then, like her father, became interested in sculpture, but left creation to order and preserved her father’s legacy. Died in 2019, at the age of 96, her generosity was crucial to the creation of the Gargallo Museum, opened in 1985 in the Palace of the Counts of Arguillo in Zaragoza and one of the most visited in the city.
The museum is already cataloging the donation so that the documents can be consulted by researchers and the interested public. “They are very valuable for the knowledge of the sculptor’s figure,” they emphasize from the institution. Among them are about 650 professional and personal letters and writings by Gargallo, 262 photographs, 22 boxes of negatives and 8 boxes of photographic plates. Furthermore, nine dissertations on the sculptor and his work, 89 art magazines with references to the artist, 81 files on exhibitions with Gargallo’s work, five folders with newspaper clippings and a hundred books from Gargallo’s personal library. There are 469 catalogs and publications with references to Gargallo and about 130 invitations or exhibition brochures with Gargallo’s presence.
Although Pierrette Gargallo lost her father at the age of 12, they had a strong complicity. The little girl grew up in Paris surrounded by the work of Gargallo who covered other notable artists and thinkers in the French capital such as Picasso, Marc Chagall, Miró, Pierre Reverdy and José Soler Casabón.
After the death of his father and with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, his life took a different turn. During World War II, Pierrette and her mother, Magali Tartansson, were imprisoned in an internment camp in Céret (France). Defeated, the Nazis were released and they moved to Barcelona.
In her youth, Pierrette was a sculptor, like her father, and lived an intense creative period in Barcelona in the 1940s. In 1947, the French government returned her father’s work to them. Married and mother of three, she changed her life and devoted herself to her father’s art, promoting its presence on five continents, while also becoming the mother of a sculptor, the nexus of three generations of artists.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
