José Clará Ayats was a sculptor and studied in Olot (Girona), Toulouse, and finally, in 1900, worked under Auguste Rodin in Paris. In the following years he made numerous trips to European countries and the United States until he settled in Barcelona in 1932. Clará Ayats received a number of medals, including the Commander’s Cross Alfonso XII and the Order Alfonso de Sage. In France, he was appointed an Officer of the Legion of Honor. He belonged to the so-called Mediterraneanism school and is considered the most important Catalan sculptor of the first half of the 20th century. This style is characterized by figurative, compact and solid sculptures in the 20th Century. First with Isadora Duncan, and later with Antonia Merce, after Duncan had died, he had two very famous dancers as muses. Further study on journeys to London and Italy completed his style.
His brother Juan Clará Ayats (1875-1958) was also a sculptor. In 1924, José was also a member of the jury for sculpturing. He repeatedly created athletic sculptures, one of which stands in the garden of the IOC in Lausanne.
Spain