Antoni Clavé

Antoni Clavé was born on April 5, 1913, in Barcelona. Clavé was a Catalan master painter, printmaker, sculptor, stage designer and costume designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards namely Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, for his work on the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. Clavé was one of Spain's best known and most celebrated artists. His work evolved from a baroque, ornamental style to a pure, minimal aesthetic. In his later years, his work was completely abstract, employing expressive lines and exploring the boundaries of collage, object-trouve, shading, texture and color. He was trained at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, where he was taught by Ángel Ferrant and Félix Mestres. With his works being influenced by artists such as Bonnard, Vuillard and Rouault. He was best known for his lyrical abstractions, works which combine paint with collage. Clavé died on September 1, 2005, in Saint-Tropez, France.