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Noucentisme (Catalan pronunciation:[ˌnɔwsənˈtizmə],noucentista being its adjective, Spanish:novocentismo) was aCatalan andSpanish cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction againstModernisme, both inart andideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almost opposite to that ofavantgardists. In 1906,Eugeni d'Ors coined the term following theItalian tradition of naming styles after the centuries (for example,Quattrocento,Cinquecento, etc.) and using the homonymsnou (nine) andnou (new) to suggest it was a renovation movement. The same year two essential works for Noucentisme were published:Els fruits saborosos byJosep Carner and "La nacionalitat catalana" by theConservative politicianEnric Prat de la Riba.
Despite certain similarities between the movements, it opposed Modernisme, the previous movement, and theradical andindividualist views andBohemian lifestyle most of its proponents engaged in. Noucentisme glorified order and what they saw as the spirit of the 20th century and an idealist expectancy of change. The novel was largely excluded in favour ofpoetry, which was more useful to convey the spirit of the style. The style as a whole shows a predilection for a Classicist approach,Europeanism,Modernism and a struggle to perfect the literary style of language. Artists and politicians were close collaborators.
Its main defining features in poetry are a return toApollonianclassicism, a very refined and accurate language, objectivity and rejection of abrupt feelings and a particular interest in nature. Its stylistical origins in the tradition started byJosep Torras i Bages, theEscola Mallorquina ("Majorcan School") led by the poetsJoan Alcover andMiquel Costa i Llobera, theFrenchParnassian poetry and theSymbolists are obvious in most of the works produced in the period that spans from 1906 to approximately 1923. TheVienna Secession was a key influence to their ideal of beauty inarchitecture. The architectRafael Masó i Valentí (1880-1935), works mainly inGirona and its regions, is one of the clearest promoters of nineteenth-century architecture. The architects of the first period, as Josep Maria Pericas mix and nineteenth-century modernist elements, especially in civil engineering.
Its most prominent adherent, Josep Carner, known by hisepithet of "prince of the Catalan poets" and produced very elaborate, ornate poetry, reminiscent of theBaroque and still admired for his beautiful style and refined language.
In the following decades, though, the name of the movement has acquired a negative connotation of an excessively affected and artificial literature, just the opposite of ModernisteJoan Maragall'sRomantic theory of "the living word", that is, spontaneity in creation.
Painters and sculptors of the Noucentista period areJoaquim Sunyer,Joaquín Torres-García andManolo Hugué (who was a close friend ofPicasso).
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Catalonia was the most industrialised and therefore wealthiest region of Spain at the time. A change of attitude towards politics among members of Catalan bourgeoisie helped develop the basis of political pragmatism and idealism in Noucentisme.Catalan nationalism was becoming seriously influential in politics for the first time, especially incarned in the right-wing and Catholic partyRegionalist League, whose goal, despite having a fullnational conscience, was to achieve a number of reforms to reassure the hegemony of the Catalan principate within Spain and to become more influential in the decision-making in Spanish politics, instead of achieving formal independence.
Following the disagreements that took place among Catalan politicians, intellectuals and, most prominently, theworking class of Barcelona (after the"disaster" of 1898 and theRif War, especially after what has come to be known asSetmana Tràgica orTragic Week in 1909), a segment of the population wished to disengage from Spain. The Catalan nationalist tradition in the 19th century had relied onprotectionist views held by both the bourgeoisie and the working classes. On the other hand, an anti-liberal andreactionaryCarlism that reclaimed itsancient rights and privileges still existed in the countryside and helped give birth, throughVigatanisme, to the emerging right-wing Catalanism. These new Noucentista views had partly assimilated and inherited these ideals, but were in favour of more modern values that represented their faith in (most probably far-fetched) idealist changes. A majority of members of the industrial bourgeoisie of the country supported the Regionalist League, which became the most influential party until about 1925.
Now that they had been given the chance, intellectuals of Noucentisme (itself a vehicle of this conservative, Catholic Catalanism), led by Eugenio d'Ors, advocated a project ofcultural intervention based on four principles: Imperialism, Arbitrarism, Civility, and Classicism.
Noucentista imperialism was a conservative and up-to-date version of the principles of SpanishRegenerationism designed to make Catalonia the leading region ofmodernization of the Spanish state and society.
Arbitrarism was a philosophy naming literary creation a symbol of human will conquering reality. Their particularwill could be summed up as an "ideal Catalonia" that would come to replace the "real Catalonia" through the remaining two precepts, Civility and Classicism.
Their concept of civility was rooted in a vision of an "ideal Catalonia" equalled to that of a Catalanpolis ruled on the principles ofculture, harmony, ademocratic community life and order versus what they saw as thebarbaric countryside.
Their interest in an Apollonian Classicism was not only of a literary nature: they desired formal perfection, harmony and flawless proportion to be everywhere.Mediterraneity came to be seen as a synthesis of the Noucentista ideal.
Their intervention in practice was carried out following three goals:
They choseBarcelona as the natural centre of all these institutional reforms.
Their project was never completely fulfilled, among other reasons because of disagreements between members of Noucentisme,anti-catalanistrepression under the 1923–1930dictatorship ofMiguel Primo de Rivera, and the consequent rise to popularity and power ofleft-wing Catalan nationalist andindependentist parties. However, a large renovation of Catalan society took place, especially thanks to the reforms during the period of theCommonwealth of Catalonia and Catalan got its first consistent spelling rules with the reform led byPompeu Fabra.
They also promoted the creation of institutions in charge of the cultural and official development of Catalan. TheBernat Metge Foundation translatedGreek andLatin language classics into Catalan and theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans became aregulator body for Catalan. Also dating from the Noucentista era are other official institutions to promote culture and make it widely accessible wereNetwork of Popular Libraries, theCatalan Drama School, theSchool of Librarians and theLibrary of Catalonia.
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