The French Press and the Catalan Art in the Paris of the Early Twentieth Century

Most Catalans artists in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century did not join the avantgarde, but rather adapted to certain stereotypes in response to the demands of the French art market. Representations of Spanish traditions perfectly suited a public who, bewildered by progress and the artistic avant-garde, sought refuge in evocations of a folkloric and idealized past. Th us, as critical reception of the work shows, the art of the Catalans in Paris was largely shaped by the expectations of a French public willing to buy this kind of work. Ultimately, in bowing to the demands of the market and exploiting popular themes, the Catalan artists in Paris at the time distanced themselves from innovation and originality, irreparably determining the fate of their critical fortune.