The art of Noucentisme

Resumen

Noucentisme was the name given to the hegemonic cultural trend in Catalonia in the early twentieth century. Although initially the main feature of its artistic version was its aim to represent the new century (called the Nou-cents in Catalan), it soon came to be characterised by its advocacy of the Mediterraneanist European tradition (Greco-Latin classicism, Italian Renaissance, etc.), in contrast to the Central European styles that were preponderant at the time, like symbolism and impressionism, which were considered alien. Noucentista art gained particular prominence when it was adopted by a new political generation which succeeded in the elections for the first time by waving the banner of Catalanism; they eventually became a veritable governing alternative that was extraordinarily active in the Catalan government, uniquely via the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, which governed the country’s public life within the constraints allowed by Spain’s constitutional framework.