Francisca Rius i Sanuy (1891-1967). Design and live
Dates: From November 29, 2025 to April 6, 2026
Opening: Saturday, November 29, at 12 pm
Curator: Domènec Ribot
Production: Museu d’Art de Girona
Presentation
Francisca Rius i Sanuy (Barcelona, 1891–1967), artist and a woman, was one of many who had to navigate, and survive, a time and environment that was not conducive to women’s professional development. Her budding artistic career showed a special sensitivity, as well as technical and conceptual skill, and her early work seemed destined to excel in graphic design. However, first of all, her family and social environment limited her aspirations. Then, the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent political circumstances brought her professional and artistic career to an abrupt end.
We have a limited legacy of her work, which has been carefully preserved within the family. We have a unique document from her life, specifically a fragment of it: a diary written during the Civil War, addressed to her son, which was published 70 years later and is a unique testimony to that period.
Since 2009, there have been a number of small tributes. Firstly, with the editions of Diari íntim (Intimate Diary), which would lead to references in other publications and even television programmes. But, above all, thanks to the growing interest in the role of women in our society and new perspectives in art history.
The Girona Art Museum has made a decisive contribution to this, presenting Francisca Rius’ work in the exhibition Feresa de Silenci: Les artistes a la revista Feminal, 1907-1917 (Dread of Silence: Artists in the Feminal Magazine, 1907-1917) in 2022 and is now presenting this solo exhibition dedicated to the artist. An exhibition that aims to showcase the life and creative career of Francisca Rius, highlighting the significance of her work, but also demonstrating how difficult it was for a woman in the early 20th century to become a professional artist. And just as their works were silenced, so too were their voices and their lives.
Biography
Francisca Rius i Sanuy (Barcelona, 1891 – 1967)
Francisca Rius i Sanuy was a drawing artist and painter in the first third of the 20th century. She was born in Barcelona on 11 December 1891. She studied at the Escuela de Lonja between 1907 and 1914, winning several prizes and diplomas each year, as well as a silver medal from the Provincial Academy of Fine Arts in 1914.
She participated in the ‘Exposició de Retrats i Dibuixos Antics i Moderns’ (Exhibition of Old and Modern Portraits and Drawings), held at the Palau de Bellas Artes in Barcelona (1910) with the painting titled Carrer de l’Arc de Sant Francesc (Street of the Arch of St Francis). In 1911, she participated in the ‘Exposición Nacional de Artes Decorativas’ (National Exhibition of Decorative Arts) held in Madrid, and in 1913 she participated again, receiving an honourable mention for her varied and interesting sketches and artistic compositions. In 1914, she won the special prize of 500 pesetas awarded by Barcelona City Council to students of the Escuela de Lonja.
In 1914, she participated in the first edition of the Summer School held by the Pedagogical Research Council of the Provincial Council of Barcelona, directed by Eladi Homs, as a teacher specialising in the ‘Application of drawing to ornamentation and stylisation’. That same year, the Femenil magazine published a feature article about her, titled ‘An artist of merit’, highlighting her art of stylisation.
During this same period, she was also responsible for the artistic direction of the works created by the Patronato de Obreras de la Aguja (Needleworkers’ Guild), founded by writer Dolors Monserdà, as well as those of La Llar (Women’s School and Student Residence), directed by Carme Karr, where she produced numerous decorative and ornamental works applied to textiles, within her area of expertise.
In 1916, she married Josep Ribot i Calpe, also a drawing artist and illustrator. In the years that followed, she had six children, only four of whom survived.
In the 1920s, she began teaching at the Institute of Culture and Popular Library for Women, founded and directed by Francesca Bonnemaison, where she worked until 1936. During the war, she continued working at the same centre, now run by the Catalan government under the name Escuela Profesional de la Mujer (Women’s Vocational School), where she taught until January 1939.
During the Spanish Civil War, following the conscription of her son, she wrote a diary about everyday life behind the front lines, describing the daily routine of her family and Barcelona society in general. The end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 brought her artistic and professional career to an abrupt halt. She died in Barcelona on 24 October 1967, at the age of 75.
