Lluís Plandiura (1882-1956) was quite a character, who even managed to mark an era more for being seductive than controversial.
His life was linear, the result of cultivating a dizzying passion that prevailed over everything else. That passion was collecting, already abandoned cycling and motoring.
He was not more than 18 years old when he dedicated himself to going after artistic posters, which were not unique works but printed copies. The reason is understandable: he still lacked the money to get larger works. The result defines the character’s profile: in just three years he amassed such a formidable ensemble that he sold to the City Council and forms the basis of the fund that the MNAC treasures.
The amount collected and his sugar business side, which would become important, allowed him to aspire to first class pieces; his instinct and sensitivity were enough for him to choose without the need for advice.
Sculpture, but above all painting and ceramics, were the focus of his obsession. Despite the fact that he was a compulsive buyer of contemporary art, he was also fascinated by some classical masters, such as El Greco or Zurbarán. Instead, he bordered on local avant-garde artists, such as Miró, Gargallo or Dalí; It is true that he was seduced by Picasso, although it was not surprising that the disagreement soon prevailed; a real pity.
His house (Calle Ribera, 6) ceased to be a home to become a true art warehouse, such was the overflowing quantity: the walls and the space were hidden under that oceanic flood. Gaudí improvised a stained glass window there.
It also incorporated the Romanesque and the Gothic. Disturbed by those Pyrenean murals, in fresco or tempera, he soon discovered the method to take them away, using an Italian technique. But the export of it alarmed the powers that be, represented by the general director of museums Joaquim Folch i Torres. A conflict broke out that discredited him.
The personal economic crisis, aggravated by the world one, forced him to sell all that treasure; Fortunately, the Generalitat and the City Council knew how to rise to the occasion and took advantage of it to thus enrich their museums.
Plandiura was in this field of fixed gear: he filled his Barcelona home with art once again and also his residence in La Garriga.
