The Story of the Marginalized Gypsies... Through Art and Literature in Spain

The Spanish institution “The Paulu” is hosting the exhibition “Nonell, Falguera, and the Gypsies,” which explores the modern history of Spain’s Roma community and revives the artistic and human relationship between the painter Isidre Nonell (1872–1911) and the writer Juli Falguera (1873–1937). Both figures emerged in Barcelona at the turn of the 20th century, united by a shared passion for “the world of the Gypsies and life in the city’s outskirts.”

The exhibition offers a journey through vanishing Barcelona and its marginalized social spheres, as seen through the eyes of two creators who transformed a reality largely ignored by their era into art and literature.

Nonell and Falguera were fellow artists in the “Llotja” group and members of the “Col·legi del Savi” circle. Their friendship, creative interests, and unique vision of Roma communities became the central focus of their work. While Nonell depicted this reality through paintings and drawings with powerful expressive force, Falguera translated it into literature through his stories about the outskirts of Barcelona.

The exhibition is the result of in-depth research conducted by Julia Guillamón in collaboration with Joan Mar Saucy. It presents previously unpublished documents and materials that allow for a deeper understanding of the connections between these two creators and shed light on the reasons behind their sudden estrangement in 1906, five years before Nonell’s death.

Running until September 27, the exhibition broadens the perspective on the cultural and social context of that period, as well as the marginalization experienced by the Roma community in modern Barcelona. It also highlights Falguera’s role as a sports patron, promoting a prestigious goldsmith workshop where cups and trophies were crafted—a place visited by the leading sculptors of the time.

“Nonell, Falguera, and the Gypsies” brings together paintings, drawings, photographs, theatrical costumes, literary texts, and an important collection of documents, many of which are being exhibited for the first time.

The tour includes works by artists such as Ricard Canals, Pablo Picasso, Joaquim Sunyer, Carles Casagemas, Ramon Casas, Sebastià Junyent, Ignasi Meliol, Enric Pascual Monturiol, and Ramon Pichot, alongside works by Isidre Nonell and Juli Falguera.