The water carriers
7.500 €
The imposing solid bronze sculpture titled "Les aiguadores" (The Water Carriers), conceived by the illustrious master sculptor Jaume Perelló i Miró (Torrefarrera, 1927 – Bellpuig, 2015), represents one of the works of greatest formal maturity, technical virtuosity, and heritage significance in his catalogue; standing with a striking presence at 63 cm in height set upon a prismatic veined black marble base, this piece commands exceptional museum-grade value as edition number 1/6 within an ultra-limited run of just six unique pieces, cast in high-density bronze using the traditional lost-wax technique. The composition, characterized by an organic stylization of modernist heritage with influences from the figurative expressiveness of Henry Moore, Constantin Brâncuși, and Mediterranean Mannerism, articulates two standing female figures in a rhythmic symbiosis of fluid lines, hollowed spaces, and ascending curves that dialogue with the surrounding space, holding traditional vessels in an ethnological and poetic tribute to the labor of rural women; the surface treatment stands out remarkably, where Perelló applies his celebrated and signature polychrome glazed patina in golden tones, ochres, and greenish glints, endowing the surface with a luminous warmth, tactile vibration, and unmistakable painterly finish. Incised-signed directly into the bronze by the artist (J. Perelló) and identified with a commemorative plaque on the base, the work synthesizes the legacy of a distinguished creator honored with the First Prize for Sacred Art in Milan (1953) and the First Prize for Relief in Buenos Aires, whose international trajectory led him to reside in New York—where Nelson Rockefeller acquired notable pieces for his private collection—to execute major works for the Vatican Museums and the cathedrals of Lleida and Solsona, and to impart his mentorship at the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, placing this singular number-one piece of "Les aiguadores" in the most esteemed tier of international collecting and 20th-century art investment.
TechniqueFundición en bronce a la cera perdida y pátina vidriada policromada
Dimensions63cm
YearCirca 1990
ArtistPERELLÓ, Jaume
PERELLÓ, Jaume
The sculptor Jaume Perelló i Miró (Torrefarrera, Lleida, 1927 – Bellpuig d’Urgell, Lleida, 2015), named Favorite Son of Torrefarrera and Bellpuig, is one of the most distinguished and international figures in 20th-century Catalan figurative and sacred sculpture, whose self-taught and academic training was forged early on in Lleida and Barcelona under the direct tutelage of renowned masters such as the celebrated sculptor and woodcarver Ramon Borràs and professor Josep Maria Camps i Arnau, mastering clay modeling, wood carving, bronze casting, and stone carving, which led him to found the Lleida School of Fine Arts and embark during the 1950s on an important international career in Italy—where he was jointly chosen by the Spanish and Italian governments to execute the monumental Christ of Bormio, created the celebrated sculpted portrait of Pope Pius XII displayed in the Vatican Museums, and won First Prize for Sacred Art in Milan in 1953, the same year he received First Prize for Relief in Buenos Aires—consolidating a vast sacred and monumental production commissioned for the cathedrals of Lleida and Solsona, the Episcopal Palace of Lleida, and numerous churches throughout Spain, most notably the creation of the "Christ of Love" at the Shrine of El Carmen in Burgos, considered the largest carved wooden Christ in the world at 9 meters in height, in addition to a revered sculpture presented personally to Pope Paul VI for the collections of the Vatican Museum of Modern Art; following his fruitful European period, Perelló established his residence in New York, where his work had a profound impact on the American art market to the point that tycoon Nelson Rockefeller acquired multiple pieces for his private collection, while simultaneously exhibiting his work in galleries and art centers across Europe and the Americas; a chapter of special historical significance in his career was his direct connection to the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, for which the Construction Board formally offered him the responsibility of sculpting the monumental Passion Façade, a colossal assignment that Perelló respectfully declined due to scheduling commitments, while imparting his mentorship, legacy, and aesthetic vision to eminent workshop collaborators and disciples, chief among them the renowned sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs, who would ultimately undertake the sculptural execution of the Gaudí façade; in order to preserve, catalog, and promote his extensive artistic heritage, the Government of Catalonia established the Perelló Foundation in 1996 in Bellpuig, a museum institution that houses a representative collection of his sculptures, drawings, and famous ceramic murals made using his own unique technique, immortalizing the mark of an exceptional creator whose work resides today in papal collections, institutional holdings, and top-tier international museums.
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