Catalan Modernism Movement History and Literature

Catalan Society and the Rise of Modernism

During the nineteenth century, Catalonia suffered profound transformations with extraordinary economic expansion and industrial enrichment in cities like Barcelona, Aragon, the Valencian Country, and Murcia. This marked Catalan society, causing catalanism to evolve into diversified political positions: conservatives, federalists, and republicans. In 1901, the Lliga Regionalista was born, which dominated Catalan politics in the first quarter of the 20th century. Meanwhile, hard conditions drove workers toward socialist or anarchist unions.

At the end of the 1890s, a new design of modernity and intellectual life arose in Catalonia. Catalan culture opened up to new European currents from France, Germany, and England, transforming daily life. This process, known as Modernism, was a true renaissance of illegal catalanism.

Stages of Literary Modernism

Literary Modernism, lasting from 1890 to 1910, is usually divided into two distinct periods:

• 1st Period (1890–1900): Centered around two main nuclei: the magazine L'Avenç, which promoted linguistic reform in Catalan (disappearing in 1893 due to anarchist crackdowns), and Santiago Rusiñol alongside other Modernist artists. The first Sitges festival took place in 1892, and the last in September of 1899.
• 2nd Period (1900–1910): Modernism consolidated as a movement, losing its initial aggressiveness while yielding its greatest fruits. This stage began with the appearance of the magazine Joventut (1900–1906) and ended in 1911 with the death of Joan Maragall.

The sons of the bourgeoisie, artists, and Modernist writers could dedicate themselves to creative work in a professional manner because they had their economic aspects resolved. Key figures include Joan Maragall, Víctor Català (novels), and Ignacio Iglesias alongside Santiago Rusiñol (playwrights).

Aesthetic Trends in Modernism

Modernism included various and even contradictory trends. Next to romantic poetic tendencies, we find marked decadence, symbolism, vitalism, social naturism, and parnassianism:

• Symbolism: Intended to suggest moods through the description of real elements.
• Vitalism: Exalted the central role of human life in the world.
• Socialism: Preoccupied itself with the social marginalization of the working sectors of society.
• Naturism: Wanted to harmonize and integrate humanity with nature, often through the exaltation of rural life.
• Parnassianism: Sought to recover classical aesthetic standards.

Joan Maragall

Joan Maragall (Barcelona, 1860–1911) was born into a bourgeois textile family. He studied law and dedicated the first part of his life to family business, not standing out as a poet and journalist until he was 30 years old. In 1890, he joined the newspaper Diari de Barcelona and collaborated with L'Avenç, the most emblematic magazine of Modernism.

He introduced the ideas of the German philosopher Nietzsche, helping to develop a pivotal cultural role. Maragall's literary work includes three main genres: poetry, essays, and journalistic articles, with poetry being his most important work (Poesies, 1895).

Maragall's poetry is grouped into two blocks:

• Spontanista: Exalts individual creativity as the only standard for poetic creation.
• Regeneracionista: A period when Maragall approached bourgeois catalanism and nationalist mythology, working to model the character of the Catalan people, especially the independent spirit.

Renewal of Catalan Prose

Modernists also modernized Catalan prose genres by focusing on two major aspects:

• The renewal of novels and short stories (the most important prose texts).
• The creation of new literary prose genres, such as poetic prose and intimate prose.

To break away from realism, Modernists embraced naturalism to express new worlds through a more poetic expression rather than a realistic account. The preferred genre was the novel, as it possessed a more concentrated argument, whereas older novels were often overlapping narratives or short stories.

Characteristics of the Modernist Novel

The Modernist novel took advantage of the resources of realism and naturalism, featuring:

• A protagonist who is rebellious, nonconformist, and seeks self-realization.
• Prime psychological importance given to the protagonist in conflict with society.
• Geographical or social spaces that acquire symbolic value, reflecting conflicts between the individual and the environment (the modernist artist versus society).
• Descriptions that are detailed and seek a symbolic dimension.
• Determinism, sensualism, mysticism, and the introduction of raw, decadent realities to create a subjective sensibility for the modernist writer.

Major Modernist Authors

Víctor Català

Víctor Català was the pseudonym of Albert Catrina (L'Escala, 1869–1966), who was both a painter and a writer. She adopted a male pseudonym after winning a literary contest in Olot, wishing to avoid prejudice because her work was written by a woman. She announced herself with Drames rurals (1902), a collection of stories depicting the marginalization of women. Her most important work was Solitud (1905), in which the protagonist, Mila, confronts society to become a free and independent person.

Prudenci Bertrana

Considered one of the greatest writers of the first half of the 20th century, Prudenci Bertrana was born in Tordera (1867) and died in Barcelona (1941). His main work, Josafat (1906), narrates the story of a bellringer of the Girona Cathedral who, seduced by a woman of ill repute, is dragged into sexual depravity and spiritual ruin. His other novels include Nòmades (1907) and L'Immoral (1911).

Josep Pous i Pagès

Josep Pous i Pagès (Figueres, 1873 – Barcelona, 1952) was one of the most characteristic representatives of Modernism. In narrative, his notable works include La baronia d'En Trall (1904) and Revolta (1905). His most renowned novel is La vida i mort en Jordi Fraginal (1912). The protagonist, Jordi, is doomed by his family's clerical background, but upon meeting Alberta, he falls in love and abandons his studies, striving to forge his own destiny until disease brings his death. Suicide represents a defiance and a victory over destiny and nature.

Modernist Theater

The interest of Modernists in aesthetic currents led them to introduce the scenic techniques of naturalism and symbolism, renewing dramatic structures. They pursued an atmosphere reflected through decoration, lighting, and music. There were two main types of Modernist theater:

• Social and Realist Theater: Influenced by Henrik Ibsen, it reflected social conflicts between workers and the bourgeoisie, as well as artists and society. It appealed strongly to working-class audiences and anarchists, influencing works by Ignasi Iglesias and Josep Pous i Pagès.
• Symbolist Theater: Championed by authors like Maurice Maeterlinck (The Intruder), it featured intense pieces focused on sentiments, the silence of death, and a suggestive language. It remained a minority art form, championed in Catalonia by Adrià Gual and Santiago Rusiñol.

Joan Puig i Ferreter

Joan Puig i Ferreter (Selva del Camp, 1882 – Paris, 1956) was a playwright and novelist. After living a bohemian life in France, he wrote La dama algonquina (1904). His theater was initially based on naturalism. In Aigües encantades (1907), he criticizes the immobilism of rural village life. An engineer proposes bringing water to a drought-stricken village, but faces fierce opposition from local owners and the church. Later, he turned to more personal theater, writing works like La senyoreta amat (1908) and El gran aleix (1910), alongside realistic works like L'innocent (1912). Later in life, he dedicated himself to novels, highlighting Servitud (1926) and Vida interior d'un escriptor (1928).

Santiago Rusiñol

Santiago Rusiñol (Barcelona, 1861 – Aranjuez, 1931) was the most emblematic figure of Modernism: a painter, writer, novelist, and playwright. Orphaned at a young age, he lived with his maternal family until, at 26, he moved to Paris to live a bohemian life and connect with Impressionist and Symbolist painters. Returning to Catalonia, he projected the image of a dandy and rebellious yet refined artist. He bought a house in Sitges (Cau Ferrat) to exhibit his works and hosted festivals between 1892 and 1899.

His theater initially focused on conflicts between the artist and bourgeois society, exemplified by L'alegria que passa (1891). In his second stage, he addressed contemporary reality; in Calaix de sastre (1902) he satirized poetic proliferation, while L'hèroe (1903) denounced the disasters of colonial wars in Cuba and the Philippines.

His most popular work was L'auca del senyor Esteve (1917), adapted from a story he published ten years earlier. It humorously portrays the customs of the petty Catalan bourgeoisie. Spanning three generations, the story shows how a family business grows through hard work, while younger generations desire artistic pursuits, ultimately resolving family conflict through reconciliation.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Rusiñol also published the novel El poble gris (1902) and the hybrid art book Jardins d'Espanya (1903).