Francesc Vidal i Jevellí

  • Francesc Vidal i Jevellí

Francesc Vidal i Jevellí (Barcelona, 1848-1914) was the country's foremost decorator and furniture maker of the time. He received both national and international commissions, and his clientele came from the Catalan upper middle class and institutions.

The son of a cabinetmaker, his father sent him to study in Paris in 1867, where he went to the School of Decorative Arts. In 1878 he returned to Barcelona and a short time later he opened his workshop, Taller Indústries d’Art, at Carrer de Bailèn, no. 60. The workshop became a centre of applied arts, where many notable Art Nouveau artists began.

It produced eclectic lines, reproduction furniture, crystal accessories and stained glass, metalwork and cast iron pieces. The stained glass artist Antoni Rigalt i Blanch and furniture maker Gaspar Homar worked there, amongst others, and later went on to open their own businesses.

Vidal was one of the artists and artisans that worked in Comillas in 1881 for the visit of King Alphonse XII.

According to the architect Oriol Bohigas, ‘Antoni Gaudí's first attempts at furniture were simple tips and collaboration with Francesc Vidal, the furniture maker for his early works, such as Güell Palace [...]’.