Francisca Rius i Sanuy (Barcelona, 1891-1967), artist and woman, was one of many who had to navigate, and survive, in an era and environment that was not very favorable for female professional development. Her incipient artistic career showed a special sensitivity and technical and conceptual skill, and her early work seemed destined to excel in graphic design. But, first, her family and social environment limited her aspirations. And then the Spanish Civil War and subsequent political circumstances brought her professional and artistic career to an abrupt end.
We have a limited legacy of his work, carefully preserved within the family circle. Of his life, and especially of a fragment of it, we preserve a unique document, a diary written during the Civil War, addressed to his son, and which, published 70 years later, is a unique testimony of those times.
Since 2009, small recognitions have been happening. First with the editions of the Diari íntim which will lead to references in other publications or even television programs. But above all thanks to the growing interest in the role of women in our society and the new perspectives of art historiography.
The exhibition catalogue aims to make public the vital and creative trajectory of Francisca Rius, to highlight the interest of her work, but also to make clear how difficult it was for a woman, at the beginning of the 20th century, to become an art professional. And how silenced her works, her voices and her lives ended up being. The catalogue features articles by the exhibition curator and the artist’s grandson, Domènec Ribot, and the art historians Elina Norandi and Pilar Vélez.
You can purchase it at the Museum shop and at the Generalitat de Catalunya Bookstore.
