Apel·les Fenosa

Born in Barcelona in 1899, he settled in France from 1920. After a short stay in Toulouse, he arrived in Paris in 1921. He met Picasso who encouraged him to devote himself to sculpture , also becoming his first and main collector.

He makes sculptures of small dimensions, but also of monumental sizes such as the “Christ” for the church of Christ-Roi in Friborg (1956-57), “Polyphème” in Dole (1972), the “Sphinx” on the pediment of the door of the Constitutional Council of Paris (1973), among others.

In 1981, UNESCO entrusted him with the Peace Education Award that it gives annually. Fenosa performs “L’Olivier”, symbol of peace and attribute of the poet. In 1982 he received the Gold Medal from the Government of Catalonia, followed by the Legion d’Honneur in 1983, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, and in 1987 the Gold Medal from the city of Barcelona.

He died in Paris on March 25, 1988.