Modernism and Noucentisme in Catalan Literature
Socio-Economic Context
The industrialization and progress in Europe caused major changes in the traditional way of life. Growing urban migration occurred as the countryside became the primary source of labor for the burgeoning cities. The bourgeoisie, holding economic power, created a new lifestyle based on money and advocated a conservative morality.
Language
The Catalan language began its systematization process thanks to Pompeu Fabra.
Cultural Field
Artists rejected the dehumanization of society brought about by industrialization and rebelled against bourgeois values, which treated art as a commodity. A rupture occurred between artists and society. Across Europe, different aesthetic movements emerged, sharing a common desire to modernize cultures and incorporate art into everyday life. This cultural wave, known as Modernism in France and England and Art Nouveau in other parts of Europe, gained significant traction.
Political Landscape
In Spain, after the First Republic, the Bourbon monarchy was restored. While this brought a period of political stability, the Catalan bourgeoisie distanced themselves from the central government and promoted the creation of their own governing bodies.
Modernism
The Modernist aesthetic renovation affected all arts, especially architecture. It was particularly prominent in literature and thought. Modernist writers aimed to overcome the postulates of the Renaixença movement without losing their Catalan identity. They were influenced by various European literary currents.
Noucentisme
The dawn of the 20th century in Catalonia also saw a pursuit of progress and modernity, but through an ambitious political and cultural program that required the collaboration of artists, intellectuals, and institutions. Noucentista writers rejected individualism and spontaneity, advocating for a return to Art Nouveau and classical harmony.
Influences and Key Figures
Henrik Ibsen
The Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen significantly influenced his contemporaries. In his play An Enemy of the People, he criticizes the bourgeoisie and highlights the conflict between the artist and society. The defense of individual liberty, freedom of expression, and truth are the basic themes of his work, making him a model for many Catalan modernists.
Modernism: A Closer Look
What is it? An artistic movement proposing the renovation of all arts. The Catalan Modernism period spans from 1893 to 1911.
Goals: Modernizing Catalan society, transforming Catalan culture into a modern national culture, opening Catalan culture to new European trends, and systematizing the Catalan language.
Dissemination: Through newspapers and magazines like L’Avenç, which spread the ideas of the movement, works, and European authors. Modernist gatherings and cultural activities facilitated the flow of information from Europe.
Diversification: Regenaracionisme encompassed artists who saw art as an instrument for social change. Esteticisme comprised artists who believed art had intrinsic value, independent of its social function.
Modernist Narrative
The Modernist narrative primarily focuses on the relationship between the individual and society. It’s a conflicting relationship where the individual feels restless and misunderstood, holding ideals rejected by a society resistant to change. This theme is central to the Modernist novel, where nature often takes on a tragic dimension.
Victor Català
Victor Català, the pseudonym of Caterina Albert, was born in L’Escala. A self-taught artist from a rural background, she made a significant impact on the literary scene. She particularly excelled in rural-themed stories, with her masterpiece being Solitud (Solitude).
Joan Maragall
Born in Barcelona to a bourgeois family, Joan Maragall is the clearest representative of Modernist poetry. As an intellectual, he actively participated in the political and cultural landscape of his time. Working as a translator, he introduced foreign literature to Catalonia. He developed the theory of the “living word,” which emphasizes sincerity, spontaneity, and emotionality in poetry.
Josep Carner
Considered the most representative poet of the Noucentisme movement, Josep Carner was a man of letters who fully participated in the cultural project led by Enric Prat de la Riba, serving as director and editor of various magazines. From 1921 onwards, he alternated between his cultural and literary career and diplomatic work. The first stage of his poetic work is rooted in Noucentisme. He revisited themes from popular literature and experimented with different metric forms, achieving indisputable formal perfection. This first stage is reflected in his sonnet collections: Primer Llibre de Sonets (First Book of Sonnets) and Els Fruits Sabrosos (The Tasty Fruits). In his second stage, Carner moved away from Noucentisme. After the collapse of his world, his poetry became more intimate, as seen in collections like El cor quiet (The Quiet Heart) and Nabi.
Guerau de Liost
Guerau de Liost was the pseudonym of the poet Jaume Bofill i Mates. His family hailed from Viladrau, where their house became a literary hub frequented by his close friend Josep Carner. A staunch Catalanist and conservative Christian, he alternated between political and literary activity, faithfully adhering to the principles of Noucentisme, particularly in his first poetry collection, La Muntanya d’Ametistes (The Amethyst Mountain). In collections like Somnis (Dreams) and La Corona de Flors (The Wreath of Flowers), he presents an ironic view of reality and himself.
Maria Antònia Salvà
Maria Antònia Salvà is the most prominent poet of this period from the Balearic Islands. Her poetry draws inspiration from the rich oral tradition of Mallorca and the authors of the Renaixença. She maintained correspondence with Josep Carner and was a close friend of other writers. Nature, particularly that of her native Mallorca, is a major theme in her poetry, through which she expresses feelings and emotions with great lyricism. Her most important collections include Espigues en flor (Spikes in Bloom) and El retorn (The Return).
Joan Puig i Ferreter
Joan Puig i Ferreter aligned himself with the social complaint movement. His work Aigües encantades (Enchanted Waters), the most representative of this movement, is inspired by Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. Set in a rural town in Tarragona, the play explores the problem of a drought that has ravaged the region for years. The authorities entrust the solution to a local landowner and an engineer who arrive in the village with plans to exploit the groundwater found in “Les Estanyades,” a place revered by the people.