Josep Bartolí

In this Catalan name, the first or paternal surname is Bartolí and the second or maternal family name is Guiu; both are generally joined by the conjunction "i".
Josep Bartolí i Guiu
Born(1910-06-30)30 June 1910[1]: 38 
Barcelona
Died3 December 1995(1995-12-03) (aged 85)[2]
New York City
Resting placeAshes scattered in waters of Premià de Mar[3]
NationalitySpanish

Josep Bartolí i Guiu (1910-1995) was a Spanish painter, cartoonist and writer. He fought in the Spanish Civil War, and published a collection of drawings (Campos de Concentracion 1939-1943) from his time as a refugee in a French internment camp. He later travelled extensively, including to Mexico and the United States where he worked as a set designer and artist. In the 1950s he was a member of the 10th Street Group of artists,[4][5] and in 1973 he won the Mark Rothko prize.[2][6] His time in France was portrayed in the César Award winning 2020 film Josep, directed by French cartoonist Aurel [fr].[7][8]

Biography

Spanish Civil War

While working as a newspaper illustrator, Bartolí was active in trade unions, helping to found a UGT affiliated illustrators' union. He later fought in Aragon with a unit of the Catalan Communist Party.[9] In 1939 he crossed into France, and was incarcerated in a series of internment camps, including Bram, Argelès-sur-Mer and Le Barcarès.[9][10]

Having escaped the camps to Paris, where he worked on costume and scenery design,[11][12] Bartolí was subsequently arrested near Vichy and due to be transported to Dachau concentration camp. He was able to escape again, and made his way to Mexico via Casablanca, arriving in 1943.[9][10][13][14]

Exile from Spain

While in Mexico in 1944, with some 20,000 fellow Spanish exiles, Bartolí first published his collection of drawings of life in the French camps.[15]

In 1946, he moved to New York where he worked as a screenwriter, artist and writer, contributing to Holiday and The Reporter supplement of the Saturday Evening Post.[15] He worked as a Hollywood set designer until he was blacklisted under McCarthyism.[2][4] He also worked as an illustrator, contributing to French editions of Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels in the 1950s.[16]

He would not return to Spain until the 1970s.[2][15]

Personal life

In 1938 he met Maria Valdés. While pregnant, she died during a German aerial attack on her train as she attempted to leave Spain.[10][17]

Bartolí met painter Frida Kahlo in 1946 and the two exchanged love letters for the next three years.[18][19] A collection of these letters and poems sold for $137,000 in 2015.[20][21]

He was survived in 1995 by his wife Bernice Bromberg, whom he had met in 1958.[2][15][22]

Legacy

In 2020, a collection of works and sketchbooks were donated to the Camp de Rivesaltes Memorial.[3][23] Other holders of his works include the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona, following a 1989 donation.[24][25]

His internment in France was portrayed in the César Award winning 2020 film Josep, directed by French cartoonist Aurel.

Selected works

  • Bartolí, José; Molins i Fábrega, N (1944). Campos de concentración, 1939-194 ... (in Spanish). Mexico City. OCLC 4330548.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Bartoli, Joseph (1973). Proyecto de mural: the Black man in America (in Spanish). Mexicali: Juan Pablos Editor. OCLC 35146122.
  • Bartoli, Joseph; Cañameras, Jaume (1990). Conversa amb Bartolí (in Catalan). Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat. ISBN 978-84-7826-182-6. OCLC 28967383.
  • Bartoli, Josep; Bartoli, Georges; Garcia, Laurence (2009). La Retirada: exode et exil des républicains d'Espagne (in French). Arles: Actes Sud. ISBN 9782742780402. OCLC 494642831.

References

  1. ^ Bartoli, Joseph (2002). Josep Bartolí, un creador a l'exili: dibuixant, pintor, escriptor (in Catalan). Diputació de Barcelona. ISBN 978-84-7794-892-6.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Josep de Bartoli, painter, dies". United Press International. 4 December 1995.
  3. ^ a b "Aurel et Bartolí, les dessins de 'Josep' pour survivre". paris-barcelona.com (in French). 28 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Mayorga, Emilio (12 June 2019). "Doc & Film Grabs Global Rights to Aurel's 'Josep'". Variety.
  5. ^ Kramer, Hilton (23 December 1977). "Art: Remember the 50's on 10th St.?". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Teresa, Guillermo Tovar de (1997). Repertorio de artistas en México: (A-F) (in Spanish). Grupo Financiero Bancomer. p. 140. ISBN 978-968-6258-51-6.
  7. ^ Roxborough, Scott (12 March 2021). "'Bye Bye Morons' Wins French Cesar for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ^ Jordan, Guifré. "Catalan-French 'Josep' wins César Award for Best Animated Film". CatalanNews.
  9. ^ a b c Faber, Sebastiaan (27 August 2020). ""If Spain Became a Republic Once Again, We'd Have Lost the War a Little Less." Georges Bartolí Remembers His Uncle Josep". The Volunteer.
  10. ^ a b c Sirach, Marie-José (25 May 2009). "Georges Bartoli. La Retirada comme un exil permanent". L'Humanité (in French).
  11. ^ Vall, Toni (14 May 2017). "Els figurins perduts de Josep Bartolí". Ara (in Catalan).
  12. ^ Yuste, Javier (4 December 2020). "'Josep' dibuja el retrato del exilio republicano". El Cultural (in Spanish).
  13. ^ Bartoli, Joseph; Cañameras, Jaume (1990). Conversa amb Bartolí (in Catalan). L'Abadia de Montserrat. p. 67. ISBN 978-84-7826-182-6.
  14. ^ Baquero, Juan Miguel (20 June 2020). "Josep Bartolí, el artista catalán y republicano que amó a Frida Kahlo y pintó el horror de los campos de refugiados". elDiario.es (in Spanish).
  15. ^ a b c d Hermoso, Borja (12 June 2020). "Un dibujante en el campo de concentración". El País (in Spanish). Hermoso, Borja (15 June 2020). "Un dibuixant al camp de concentració". El País (in Catalan).
  16. ^ "Bartolí, Josep". Catalogue général (in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  17. ^ Renard, Camille (31 January 2019). "Josep Bartoli et l'exode espagnol : son crayon est une arme". France Culture (in French).
  18. ^ Chappo, Ashley (2 April 2015). "Passion Penned: At Auction, Frida Kahlo's Intimate Love Letters of an Illicit Affair". Observer.com.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Maev (9 April 2015). "Frida Kahlo's love letters to José Bartoli to be auctioned in New York". The Guardian.
  20. ^ "Frida Kahlo Love Letters Sell for $137,000 at Doyle NY". Fine Books & Collections. 16 April 2015.
  21. ^ "KAHLO, FRIDA An important unpublished archive of approximately twenty-five autograph letters to Jose Bartoli, with photographs and various enclosures". Doyle Auction House. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Making of Josep". French Institute Alliance Française. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  23. ^ Devailly, Anne (30 September 2020). "En lien avec la sortie de Josep, le film du dessinateur Aurel, la Région reçoit une donation des œuvres de Josep Bartoli". Artistes d'Occitanie (in French).
  24. ^ "La película de animación Josep, basada en la vida y la obra del dibujante antifranquista Josep Bartolí ha sido seleccionada en el Festival de Cannes". Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (in Spanish). Ajuntament de Barcelona. Retrieved 2 April 2021.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "Josep Bartolí". Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (in Catalan). Ajuntament de Barcelona. Retrieved 2 April 2021.