Joan Junceda facts for kids
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Joan Junceda, whose full name was Joan García Junceda i Supervia, was a very important artist and illustrator from Catalonia, Spain. He was born in Barcelona in 1881 and passed away in Blanes in 1948. Junceda was one of the most famous Catalan artists during the first half of the 1900s. His father came from Asturias, another region in Spain. Joan Junceda created drawings for many popular magazines and newspapers, including ¡Cu-Cut!, Papitu, Picarol, and En Patufet.
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The Life of Joan Junceda
Joan Junceda wanted to join the Spanish Army, but he didn't pass the entrance exams. Instead, he decided to teach himself how to draw. He started working at a big shopping center in Barcelona called El Siglo. There, he joined a team that drew pictures for the store's catalogs. This was how he began his career as an illustrator.
His First Published Drawings
Junceda's first drawing appeared in the magazine ¡Cu-Cut! on Christmas eve in 1902. He used a special pen name, or pseudonym, for this drawing: Ribera. This was just the beginning of his long and successful career.
Famous Works and Stories
Joan Junceda illustrated a series of stories called "Historietes Exemplars" (which means "Exemplary Stories"). These were stories that taught a moral lesson, put together by Josep Maria Folch i Torres. They were first published in a magazine called "L'Esquitx".
However, Junceda's most well-known work is his drawings for a book called "Bon Seny". This book was a collection of old sayings, fables, and funny stories from the countryside of Catalonia. These stories were about seny, which is a special Catalan idea of good sense and wisdom. Writer Josep Abril i Virgili gathered these stories, encouraged by Josep Torras i Bages, who was a bishop from Vic.
Bon Seny was published in the Catalan language before the Spanish Civil War. During the time of General Franco's rule, many Catalan books were destroyed, and printing in Catalan was very difficult. Because of this, Bon Seny became a very rare book. After the war, Junceda continued to make beautiful drawings. He even illustrated a book called "Santa Tierra de España" (Holy Land of Spain) in 1942.
Honoring Joan Junceda
In 2003, the Professional Association of Catalan Illustrators (Associació Professional d'Il·lustradors de Catalunya) created the Premis Junceda (Junceda Awards). These awards are named after Joan Junceda to recognize his important work. He helped make modern illustration popular and exciting.
Today, there is a monument honoring Joan Junceda in the Rambla de Catalunya in Barcelona. It was created by the artist Alfons Pérez i Fàbregas.
See also
- Seny
- Spanish Republican Army
