Antoni Pitxot
Encyclopedia
Antoni Pitxot (born 1934 in Figueres
, Catalonia
) is a Catalan
Spanish
painter who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí
.
Pitxot was born into a family with many artists in its ranks, among them, his uncle Ramon Pichot
. He began studying drawing at the age of thirteen, and he exhibited regularly in Lisbon
, Bilbao
, Barcelona
, and Madrid
in his twenties and thirties, winning many prizes, including the Gold Medal painting prize in Barcelona's La Punyalada competition in 1965.
At the beginning of the 1960s, he was a close friend of the French painter Maurice Boitel
, who painted many pictures on the Pitxot family's property in Cadaqués
, a small port town on the Balearic Sea
near the French border, that was also painted by Pablo Picasso
and André Derain
.
In 1966, Pitxot took up permanent residence in Cadaqués, where his family had owned a summer house since the end of the 19th century. He began to experiment with surrealism
: in particular, he became focused on anthropomorphic figures composed of the stones that lined the seashores near his home. Pitxot worked in a unique way: he would build sculptures from stones, and then paint those sculptures in oil.
Much of Pixtot's work is concerned with allegory and myth, including the figure of Mnemosyne
, the mother of the nine muse
s who personified memory, and a series of works about The Tempest.
Pitxot's association with Salvador Dalí
began before his birth, because their families were acquainted. But Dalí became an early supporter of Antonio Pitxot's work, and eventually asked him to co-design the Dalí Theatre and Museum (Teatre-Museu Dalí) in Figueres
, Spain. There is also a permanent exhibition of Pitxot's work on one floor of that museum.
Pitxot and Dalí were nearly inseparable in the last years of Dalí's life: designing Dalí's museum, teaching art, and exchanging ideas about their work. Pitxot has been a protector of Dalí's legacy after his death: He is a member of the board of the Gala Salvador Dalí Foundation, and he has led, and sat on the board, of several other Dalí foundations.
He became the museum
's director after Dalí's death.
Pitxot is a respected Spanish artist in his own right. In the year 2000, he was appointed corresponding academician for Cadaqués of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George. In the 2004, he received the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts from the King of Spain as a recognition for his work. Pitxot's works are held in private collections and in various museums.
His grandson is the Catalan
actor
, singer and comedian
Bruno Oro Pichot.
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
) is a Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
painter who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
.
Pitxot was born into a family with many artists in its ranks, among them, his uncle Ramon Pichot
Ramon Pichot
Ramon Pichot Gironès was a Catalan and Spanish artist. He painted in an impressionist style.He was a good friend of Pablo Picasso and an early mentor to young Salvador Dalí. Salvador Dalí met Ramon Pichot Gironès in Cadaqués, Spain when Salvador was only 10 years old. Ramon also made many trips...
. He began studying drawing at the age of thirteen, and he exhibited regularly in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in his twenties and thirties, winning many prizes, including the Gold Medal painting prize in Barcelona's La Punyalada competition in 1965.
At the beginning of the 1960s, he was a close friend of the French painter Maurice Boitel
Maurice Boitel
Maurice Boitel Maurice Boitel Maurice Boitel (July 31, 1919 – August 11, 2007 in Audresselles (Pas-de-Calais), was a French painter.-Artistic life:Maurice Boitel belonged to the art movement called "La Jeune Peinture" ("Young Picture") of the School of Paris, with painters like Bernard Buffet, Yves...
, who painted many pictures on the Pitxot family's property in Cadaqués
Cadaqués
Cadaqués is a town in the Alt Empordà comarca, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is on a bay in the middle of the Cap de Creus peninsula, near Cap de Creus cape, on the Costa Brava of the Mediterranean...
, a small port town on the Balearic Sea
Balearic Sea
The Balearic Sea or Iberian Sea is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea near the Balearic Islands. In the Catalan language the area is also known as the Catalan-Balearic Sea .The Ebro River flows into this small sea....
near the French border, that was also painted by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and André Derain
André Derain
André Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
.
In 1966, Pitxot took up permanent residence in Cadaqués, where his family had owned a summer house since the end of the 19th century. He began to experiment with surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
: in particular, he became focused on anthropomorphic figures composed of the stones that lined the seashores near his home. Pitxot worked in a unique way: he would build sculptures from stones, and then paint those sculptures in oil.
Much of Pixtot's work is concerned with allegory and myth, including the figure of Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne , source of the word mnemonic, was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. This titaness was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the nine Muses by Zeus:* Calliope * Clio * Erato...
, the mother of the nine muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
s who personified memory, and a series of works about The Tempest.
Pitxot's association with Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
began before his birth, because their families were acquainted. But Dalí became an early supporter of Antonio Pitxot's work, and eventually asked him to co-design the Dalí Theatre and Museum (Teatre-Museu Dalí) in Figueres
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
, Spain. There is also a permanent exhibition of Pitxot's work on one floor of that museum.
Pitxot and Dalí were nearly inseparable in the last years of Dalí's life: designing Dalí's museum, teaching art, and exchanging ideas about their work. Pitxot has been a protector of Dalí's legacy after his death: He is a member of the board of the Gala Salvador Dalí Foundation, and he has led, and sat on the board, of several other Dalí foundations.
He became the museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
's director after Dalí's death.
Pitxot is a respected Spanish artist in his own right. In the year 2000, he was appointed corresponding academician for Cadaqués of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Saint George. In the 2004, he received the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts from the King of Spain as a recognition for his work. Pitxot's works are held in private collections and in various museums.
His grandson is the Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Bruno Oro Pichot.