Chemist’s Grau Ynglada: a singular shop in the modernist Barcelona

Abstract

This article introduces the results of a monographic research, never made before,  about  the  modernist  chemistry  of  Ferran  Grau  Ynglada,  in  Barcelona.  It was  opened  in  1900,  at  the  peak  of  modernism,  in  1907  it  was partly  burned  in due  to  a  fire  started  in  the  annexed  laboratory.  Alexandre de Riquer was responsible  for  its  decoration  and  relied  on  some  famous  Catalan artists,  like Gaspar Homar  and  the  Rigalt  firms.  The  article  offer  accurate  detail  about the art forms that conform the chemistry, both inside and outside: furniture, stained glass,  ceramic,  paint  and  hydraulic  floor.  Moreover,  it  analyses  its iconographic and  symbolic  program,  through  exploring  the  connections  between  chemistry, medicine and the wide range of modernist ornaments.