Felip Vall i Verdaguer facts for kids

Felip Vall i Verdaguer (born May 26, 1916, in Tona, Catalonia, Spain – died August 5, 2012, in Vic) was a Spanish artist. He was a painter, decorator, and designer. He was especially good at creating large paintings on walls, called murals.

Biography

Felip Vall studied art in Barcelona at the St. George School of Fine Arts. This school was later known as La Llotja. He learned from famous painters like Ramon de Capmany and Josep Maria Marquès i Puig. He also studied at the Architecture and Industrial School. There, he took a course on how to use colors in art. He became a mural painter, inspired by Josep Maria Sert Badia.

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, he painted Els Milicians a la Trinxera (Militants in The Trenches). The next year, in 1938, he created a mural for the mayor's office in Malla Town Hall. Soon, he started getting many requests to decorate other buildings in the area.

In 1947, Felip Vall was chosen from many artists to paint the curved ceiling of the Cathedral in Vic. His first idea for this project is now kept at the Episcopal Museum in Vic. You can see his final plan in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit cloister at Vic Cathedral. However, he never got to paint the actual ceiling because there wasn't enough money.

In 1949, Vall traveled to France to learn more about art. He lived in Paris for some time and continued his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He met Gisele Decoursière, who taught at the Institute Marie Curie in Paris. He stayed in Paris until 1955. During this time, he had many exhibitions of his paintings and his decorated furniture. Vall showed his furniture at Chez Christofle in Paris and received many requests for his work.

He was chosen to lead the group of Spanish artists living in France. In 1954, he led the Spanish artists exhibiting at the Salon of Free Art (Art Libre) in Paris. He also showed his work there alongside famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Alexis Hinsberger. This exhibition honored the writer Garcia Lorca.

Vall even got an international patent for painting fur. This helped him earn enough money to live in Paris for many years. Before this, Vall had worked in his family's clothing business. He designed logos and drawings for their clothes. This family business started in 1916. Vall also drew pictures for books, like Se Habla Español in 1952. He also made etchings and engravings for Montaner i Simon Publishers from 1940 to 1960.

Later, he lived in Mallorca for several years. He had shows at the Costa Galleries in Palma. The gallery owner, Josep Costa, and his son became his art dealers until 1980. He also showed his work at the Llotja in Palma de Mallorca in 1960. He painted a series of murals using fabrics for a private home in Cala d’Or.

Vall also gave talks. In 1946, he spoke in Lleida about "A New Way to Paint Murals." In 1966, he talked about "The Origin of Pottery" in Mallorca. In 1977, for the 100th anniversary of The Atlàntida by poet Jacint Verdaguer, Felip Vall showed 12 paintings at the Diputació de Barcelona. Six of these paintings were displayed at the Casa-Museu Verdaguer in Vil·la Joana from 1977 to 1995.

For seven months in 1996, he worked to restore his own paintings at the church in Tona. He repainted half of the large 500 square meter area.

Outstanding Work

Felip Vall's murals, paintings, and decorated furniture can be found in Catalonia, France (especially Paris), Italy, and the United States of America. Here are some of his important works:

• 1938: A mural in the main hall of the Malla Town Hall. This painting shows the different seasons.
• 1940: The Chapel of Sorrows in the Torrellebreta country house, in Malla.
• 1944-45: Decoration of the ceiling in the Holy Chapel of the Church of Sant Pere de les Puelles in Barcelona. This is one of the oldest churches in Barcelona. The paintings celebrated the church's 1000th birthday.
• 1945: Decoration of the church in Sant Andreu Tona. He later restored the main altar in 1996.
• 1947: The dining room of the Pradell Manor, Gurb, Vic. This was the home of Ramon d'Abadal i de Vinyals.
• 1945: A mural in the Marist School of Valldemia, in Mataró. Felip Vall and his brothers went to school here when they were children.
• 1961: Mural decoration for the halls, stalls, and amphitheater of the Diagonal cinema in Barcelona. This was for its opening on February 24, 1961.

Awards and Recognitions

• He received a diploma with a bronze medal from the Society of Arts and Letters in Paris.
• In 1996, he received the "Milestone" award from his hometown of Tona. This award recognized his many years of work for culture in Tona. He did archaeological research, helped restore the castle and the Camp de les Lloses, and researched Tona's history. He also contributed a lot to painting.

Retrospectives

Here are some exhibitions that looked back at Felip Vall's work:

• Retrospective at Can Sebastià, Tona: December 2013 to January 2014.
• Felip Vall Verdaguer and the ceiling of the Vic Cathedral: Part of the VICCC Vic Catalan Capital of Culture 2016. Held at Capella Fonda (Sala Sert) in March 2016.
• L’Atlàntida of Felip Vall. Paintings and Drawings: Part of Vall's Year in Tona 2016. Held at Can Sebastià in April 2016.
• Felip Vall paints women and children: Held at the Camp de les Lloses Museum, Tona, from December 2016 to January 2017.

See also

In Spanish: Felip Vall i Verdaguer para niños