Collection of the Museum: calendar of CH. Lorilleux & Cie

Pages of a calendar of the company Ch. Lorilleux y Cía., which reproduce works by the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, a prominent poster artist, printed in two inks on couché paper. One ink is used for the background (lithograph of a Mucha design) and the other personalizes the calendar. In this case, the data of the month (with the name of the saint of each day) and the identification of the branch, which is that of Spain, with the office located in Barcelona, ​​in Carrer de Casanova.

Each month has a different lithographic drawing that always contains, at the bottom left, the trademark logo (with the Chantecoq mill, located near the French town of Puteaux) and, at the top right, a medal with the representation of the zodiac sign corresponding to the month in question.

Ch. Lorilleux y Cía., a company dedicated to printing inks founded in 1818 in the French town of Puteaux, opened a factory in Badalona, ​​on Carrer d’Eduard Maristany, in 1888. Popularly called La Tinta, it was the first company in this sector established in Catalonia and, for a few years, enjoyed a real monopoly. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, almost all the Spanish press used inks made in Badalona. In the second half of the same century it moved to the district of Manresà. The company had several names over time until it became part of the Sun Chemical industry group.

The Museum of Badalona also preserves a medal table of this company, assembled in the last decade of the 19th century (MB inv. 13387), donated by Sun Chemical, SA in 2011.

For further information click here

 

 

The Virolai, a patriotic anthem

The popular hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, the Virolai, with lyrics by the poet Jacint Verdaguer and music by Josep Rodoreda, created on the occasion of the festivities of the Millennium of Montserrat, began to become popular during the first years of the 20th century, beyond its religious aspect, as a patriotic anthem for different sectors of Catalan society. This was the song that accompanies the proclamation of the Catalan State by Lluís Companys on October 6th, 1934, within the framework of the Second Republic. And it was also the song that the members of the republican army spontaneously sang when they crossed the Pyrenees in the retreating . The writer and editor Joan Sales masterfully describes it in his work Uncertain Glory:

“How could I ever forget that moment, when we reached the ridge of the Pyrenees and looked into the distance the great plain of towns and cities that smoked, like a goodbye to the crucified homeland we were about to leave we sang the Virolai! Everyone, even the anarchists … “.

Years later, in 1948, when Joan Sales and his family returned to Catalonia, the Virolai continued to act as a national anthem, given the Franco regime’s ban on Els Segadors. In that devastated country, Sales would carry out a huge publishing task, discovering fundamental authors for Catalan literature such as Màrius Torres, Llorenç Villalonga and Mercè Rodoreda, while his wife, also the writer and editor Núria Folch i Pi, would find in our city, Badalona, the right place ​​where developing her work as a teacher, working in two prominent schools, as the Minguella School and the Albéniz Institute.

 

Montserrat. Antoni Ros i Güell. Inv. MB 6671

 

Happy St. George’s Day 2020

To celebrate St. George’s Day, roses are a must, and here we offer you a corsage that is, in fact, a women’s hat.

This piece, as original and elegant as it is delicate, was conceived and made by hand by Conxita Salla Pallàs. Despite not being known to the general public, Conxita Salla was a more than notable designer of hats and ceremonial head ornaments for women, which she herself made either for sale or for rent. She had a workshop at Progrés street, no. 23, in Badalona, where she worked from the middle of the 20th century until 1970.

In 2013, a set of 120 pieces by Salla were added to the Museum’s collections, thanks to a donation made by her granddaughters Rosa Mari, Ariadna and Carla Miralles.

Happy St. George’s Day to all!

For further information click here

 

Collection of the Museu: Violetes per a Muriel

This painting, a joint work of the Santilari brothers, is a preparatory drawing that the artists gave to the Museum of Badalona on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition that they held there in 2010, when Badalona was Capital of Catalan Culture.

This is a very unique piece, as Josep and Pere Santilari are not used to to do joint works, although they share a careful technique, a realistic and meticulous style, and a deep knowledge of the history of art that is often reflects subtly on their paintings.

Muriel, one of Josep’s usual models, appears here with a slightly absent, melancholy expression and closed in on herself. It is the perfect illustration of one of the comments that Antoni Puigvert made to these artists in the introduction of the catalogue published by the Museum in 2010: “The characters of the Santilari brothers have roots: this is why we can see their soul.”

For further information click here

 

 

Why do we restored the museum pieces?

One of the basic functions assigned to the Museums is the conservation of the inventoried pieces so that they can be studied, communicated and, at the same time, preserved and they can be persist for the future generations, as witnesses to an activity of their past or as apart from their culture.

We show you the pictures of a Volcan brand gas hob, from the Padrós y Soler Ltda., of Badalona. This hob, manufactured from 1945, was restored in 2017 by ECORE’s students, a school of conservation and restoration of works of art with which the Museum of Badalona has a collaboration agreement.

In this case, it was a cleaning and maintenance treatment, since in the previum analysis it was diagnosed a good layer of dust, surface dirt and rust stains.

The process consisted of first cleaning the surfaces with steel wool and cotton wool, applying dressings on different stains, and doing a final cleaning to remove any other products. As a final treatment, a layer of protection was put on the iron pieces and a layer of glossy varnish on those of other metals.

All this not only serves to recover the good appearance of the historical piece, in this case the stove, but also guarantees that, if kept in the right conditions of humidity and temperature and periodically done a minimum cleaning, it can still last many, many years in perfect condition.

 

Postponed the 16th edition of the Magna Celebratio and the Night of the Museums

Due to the emergency situation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Roman festival Magna Celebratio will not be able to take place on the last weekend of April, as has been the tradition. However, depending on the circumstances, the Badalona Museum does not rule out organizing the festival last summer.

On the other hand, the Night of the Museums, which was to be held on May 16th on the occasion of International Museum Day (May 18th), is postponed to November 14th, following the directives of the French Ministry of Culture, driver of the activity.

The impact of the pandemic also forces us to alter the regular schedule of all activities scheduled annually (exhibitions, conferences, presentations, guided tours, summer nights …). The Museum, however, continues to be active in social networks with the creation of new contents, and on the website, with leisure and cultural proposals that are published daily.

So, we invite you to follow us and take the opportunity to remind you that we are telecommuting and that you can contact us by phone or email.

The Museum team answers

Children are not allowed to go to school these days, but we know they are still studying at home with the help of parents and teachers. From the Museum we also want to make our contribution, and we invite you to ask any questions you have about any questions or topics you would like to expand.

You know that our specialty is the history of Badalona of all times and especially of Roman times, since the Museum can visit the ancient Roman city of Baetulo.

You can send your questions to info@museudebadalona.cat, and we will answer them in writing or through a video, as required by the topic.

57 years of the Cardenal Albareda square

On a day like today 57 years ago, the Plenary of the Badalona City Council approved to give the name of Cardinal Albareda to a square in the Congress neighborhood. It is an area where there are several public spaces that bear names related to religion and the Catholic Church, in recognition of the entity of Catholic origin Viviendas del Congreso Eucarístico, SA, which promoted, between 1963 and 1970, the construction of homes that they constitute the neighborhood.

Anselm Maria Albareda i Ramoneda (Barcelona 1892-1966), was a historian, librarian, archivist, theologian and ecclesiastic, who came to achieve the dignity of cardinal. Baptized as Joaquim, he took the name of Anselm Maria when he professed as a Benedictine. He lived in Badalona, ​​where his family settled when he was little and continued to be linked to the city throughout his life. He studied in the Marists of Badalona, ​​in the Montserrat monastery – where he would be an archivist – and in Rome. Between 1933 and 1961 he was prefect of the Vatican Library, which he reformed deeply. During the years of World War II he stood out for his work of saving bibliographic collections, among which that of Montecassino Abbey stands out. In 1962 he was appointed cardinal and soon afterwards the Badalona City Council granted him the title of adoptive son of the city. In 1963 he attended the conclave that elected Paul VI as the new pope. He is the author of several publications, many of which are devoted to the history of the Montserrat monastery, where his remains rest.

In 2016, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his death, the Museum of Badalona, ​​together with the parish of Santa Maria de Badalona, ​​dedicated an exhibition to him, which could be seen in the church of Santa Maria and, later, in the monastery of Montserrat .

 

Gallery: TITUS. From the first baths to the ballroom

This gallery is a proposal to go back in time and remember an establishment where our great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were entertained.

In 1880 Francesc Fonollà (aka) Titus installed simple wooden huts on the beach where people could swim in small saltwater pools or in the sea, grabbing ropes that were installed there. It has been 140 years since then and now the Titus Group has more than one dance and leisure room, both in the city and outside.

The photographs were transferred to the Museum’s Image Archive, Ramon Fonollà Ferrer,  Ramon, in November 2011, at the end of the 130th anniversary celebrations and once the publication TITUS platja. Des de 1880 al 2000.

View gallery

TITUS, el primer establiment de bany, el restaurant, la sala de ball

Who is the mayor of Ca l’Umbert?

The preparation of the exhibition Portraits, which the Museum will inaugurate as soon as it can restart its public activity, has caused us to review the information available from some of the paintings we have incorporated in the exhibit. One is the portrait of the mayor of Ca l’Umbert.

It is an oil painting portraying an elderly man sitting on a chair and holding a Mayor’s baton in his hand, indicating that he has a position, probably that of a mayor. It is unknown when this paint went to the Museum collections, who donated it and where it came from.

When in 1993 the Josep M. Cuyàs Archive was donated to the Museum, a photograph of this painting was located in its photographic collection, where, behind it, Mr. Cuyàs had scored “mayor of Ca l’Umbert”. Looking for the names of the mayors of the first half of the 19th century, we found Bartomeu Rovira Mandri (circa 1790-185?), who was mayor for two brief stages in the years 1833 and 1835, and we think he is the character portrayed, precisely by her relationship with the house today known as Ca l’Umbert.

Ca l’Umbert is a farmhouse located on Santa Barbara Street. This name, however, is relatively recent. Until the early years of the twentieth century, this house was known by the name of Can Rovira, as it was a family of this last name that had built it in the late eighteenth century. The aforementioned Bartomeu Rovira was the son of this house, so it should come as no surprise that Josep M. Cuyàs used the name of the house of the Mayor, Ca l’Umbert, to name him.

 

 

Portrait of the mayor of Ca l’Umbert, Bartomeu Rovira Mandri. Inv. 2322