Pablo Gargallo
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Pablo Emilio Gargallo (January 5, 1881 – December 28, 1934) was a Spanish sculptor and painter.
Born in Maella, Zaragoza, he moved to Barcelona with his family in 1888 where he would begin his training in the arts. Gargallo developed a style of sculpture based on the creation of 3 dimensional objects from pieces of flat metal plate, and he also used paper or cardboard cutouts for his designs. Some of these sculptures have a form of minimalism. For example, only one half of a face may be shown, and it may have only one eye. He also made more traditional sculptures in bronze, marble and other materials. He is considered to be one of the most significant artists of the Catalan avant-garde.
He spent a significant part of his life in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France where in 1903 he lived for a time in the artists commune, Le Bateau-Lavoir with Max Jacob, Juan Gris and other "starving" artists, including his friend Picasso whose head he modelled as a sculpture. The following year, Juan Gris introduced him to Magali Tartanson whom he married in 1915.
Amongst Gargallo's works are three pieces based on Greta Garbo: "Masque de Greta Garbo à la mèche," "Tête de Greta Garbo avec chapeau," and "Masque de Greta Garbo aux cils."
Gargallo suffered from fulminating bronchial pneumonia and died in Reus, (Tarragona. He is considered to be one of the most significant artists of the Spanish avant-garde and in 1985 the Pablo Gargallo Museum in Zaragoza opened in the former Argillo Palace.