Alexandre de Riquer

ALEXANDRE DE RIQUER INGLADA (Calaf, Barcelona, 1856 - Palma de Mallorca, 1920).
Set of 8 Ex-libris panels, ca. 1900-07.
Engravings on paper.
Some of them signed and dated, some in plate, others in pencil.
Measurements: 41 x 121 cm.

Alexandre de Riquer's ex-libris are emblematic works of Catalan modernism and reflect his mastery as a graphic artist. His interest in decorative art and his influence of European movements such as the British Arts and Crafts, led by William Morris, marked his style. Riquer's ex-libris are recognized for their elaborate designs inspired by floral art, sinuous lines and the symbolism of modernism. They incorporate motifs such as flowers, leaves, branches, and often feature stylized female figures related to nature and beauty. Likewise, ex-libris were not only decorative, they also conveyed personal messages from the book's owner. Alexandre de Riquer used to include symbolic elements, such as monograms, initials, or heraldic coats of arms representing the owner. In this collection, we collect the plafons he made for Antoni Dalmau, Frederich Miracle, J.Maragall, Josep M.Monsalvatge, Josep Fabregat, Hugo Sanner, among others. Between 1890 and 1916, the publishing house Montaner y Simón Editores of Barcelona commissioned him to illustrate luxury covers, and together with those he commissioned from other illustrators, these illustrated books quickly became collector's items. Some of the other covers he made for ex-libris are preserved in the MNAC (La ciencia moderna, El ídolo and Antología Americana).

Drawer, painter and poet, de Riquer began his studies in Manresa and Languedoc, France. Back in Barcelona, he completed his training with Tomás Padró and Antoni Caba, at La Lonja. He then travels to Paris and London, being of special importance his contact in England with Japonism, Pre-Raphaelism and the Arts & Crafts movement. Influenced by figures such as William Morris, he embodied the Pre-Raphaelite ideal: artist, craftsman and poet united in the same man. He founded a furniture workshop, made designs for decorative arts and collaborated as a draftsman and poet with the most prominent publications of Catalan modernism. He also introduced the art of ex-libris in Catalonia, a discipline in which he achieved worldwide fame. He participated in numerous exhibitions and expositions, obtaining first medals in the Universal of Barcelona (1888), the National of Madrid (1906) and the Universal of Chicago (1893). Riquer is represented in the Prado Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Ateneo of Barcelona, the Cau Ferrat and the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona, among many others.