A SPANISH PATINATED TERRACOTTA ORIENTALIST GROUP OF A YOUTH AND LION

Venancio Vallmitjana (1826-1919) worked in Barcelona where he was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts, from 1833 a professor at the College of Arts and Crafts and by 1856 head of sculpture at the School of Fine Arts. In 1890 he won first prize at the National Exhibition in Madrid. Initially making small clay figures and religious ornamentation he was later responsible for much of Barcelona's monumental public sculpture including pieces for the University of Barcelona, the Bank of Barcelona and statuary for the Ciutadella Park waterfall built for the 1888 Universal Exhibition.