1960 Spanish Festival Poster, Fiestas De La Merced, Barcelona

1960 Spanish Festival Poster, Fiestas De La Merced, Barcelona

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Date: 1960
Size: 8.5 x 12.25 inches
Artist: Arnalot, Manuel Jiménez

About the Poster: Created for the 1960 Festival "De La Merced", Barcelona's official celebration named after the city's patron saint. "La Mercè is the annual festival of the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It has been an official city holiday since 1871, when the local government first organized a program of special activities to observe the Roman Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Mercy, La Mare de Déu de la Mercè in Catalan. Although the actual feast day is September 24, the festivities begin a few days beforehand. Some of the most important features of the festival were introduced in the year 1902, when parades included papier maché “giants” known as gegants i capgrossos, the first Castell competition in the city, and a popular dance from Empordà that was becoming popular throughout Catalonia: the Sardana. The holiday has enjoyed immense local popularity ever since." (Wikipedia)

About the Artist: The artist, Manuel Jiménez Arnalot (1927-1993) was a fine cartoonist, painter, screenwriter, illustrator and poster artist who began to work as a cartoonist (films and publications) in the early 1940s. During the 1950s he attempted to settle in Paris, where his drawings and illustrations were widely accepted and published in French. In the 1960s, after failing to find permanent work in the french capital, he turned to creating visual material for children's publications. He was commissioned to design the poster for the Feste de la Merced for the years 1958, 1959 and 1960. In 1973, the artist left the publishing world to focus on fine art (painting and sculpture) and poetry. He received numerous prizes and honours in his late career. (Source: http://www.grafopata.com/dibujantes_fitxa.asp?IDbook=42)