Xavier Miserachs


Xavier Miserachs i Ribalta was a Catalan photographer. He studied medicine at the University of Barcelona, but left school to be a photographer. He exhibited his work in Barcelona from 1956. His work is reminiscent of neorealism and is representative of the years of Spanish economic recovery, 1950-1960. His photographs show him as a creator of a new image of the city and its people. In 1998 he received the Creu de Sant Jordi of the Catalan government.

Biography

Miserachs was born in Barcelona on July 12, 1937, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War. He was the son of a hematologist and a librarian, Manuel Miserachs and Montserrat Ribalta. He discovered photography at the Technical Institute of Santa Eulàlia, in Barcelona, where he met Ramon Fabregat and his brother Antonio. He studied four courses of a career in medicine, but left shortly before the end to embark on a career as a professional photographer.
In 1952, he became a member of the Photographic Association of Catalonia, where he became friends with Oriol Maspons. He first exhibited at the headquarters of the Photographic Association of Catalonia in 1957, along with Ricard Terré and Ramon Masats. In 1959 they presented work together again in the Sala Aixelà of Barcelona. He began his professional career in 1959, when Xavier Busquets commissioned him to guide Picasso in his drawings of the facade of the College of Architects of Catalonia.
In 1961, after returning from military service, Miserachs wanted independence, and set up his first studio in Casa David at Carrer Tuset in Barcelona. He began photographing on request and for book authors with his work appearing in books such as Barcelona Blanc i Negre and Costa Brava Show.
During the 1960s he also served as a news reporter for Spanish magazines. In 1968 he signed an exclusive contract with the Revista Triunfo. He also published several articles in La Vanguardia, Gaceta Ilustrada, Interviú, Bazaar and Magazin. He was thus able to witness such historic events as May 68, Swinging London and Prague Spring. Miserachs engaged mainly in editorial photography but also did work doing reports.
In January 1967 he co-founded the Escola Eina, where he was one of the first professors of photography. He occasionally frequented Boccaccio's, then the meeting place par excellence of the gauche divine. In 1997 he published his memoir, contact sheets, which won a Gaziel prize.
Miserachs died on August 14, 1998, aged 61, in the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona from lung cancer.

Works

Features

Miserachs was the youngest member of a group of photographers led by Francesc Català-Roca. The group's other members were: Oriol Maspons, Ricard Terré, Paco Ontañón, Leopold Pomés, and Ramon Masats.
At the time, the only photography magazine was Arte Fotografico, founded by the Ignacio Barceló in 1952, which featured mostly amateur photography. It was announced that Josep M. Casademont would assume the role of promoter between the theoretical and Catalan photographers. In 1963 he published his own magazine, Image and Sound, taking the same direction of Sala Aixelà of Barcelona. Here, Casademont describes the group's work as neorealist:
His publication in Barcelona, Blanc y Negre, in 1964, was a significant event in Miserachs's career. The book also looked upon the sour and chaotic urban world as they complete the visions of Barcelona, and went beyond charming and picturesque character, conveying a new sensitivity.

Films

Miserachs had a brief foray with film, making underground movie shots with some of his friends Enrique Vila-Matas, Emma Cohen and Jordi Cadena. Later he directed and produced his own short film, Amén historieta muda He made the film still from Juguetes rotos, directed by Manuel Summers, in 1966.

Legacy

Memorials

In 2001 the first Xavier Miserachs Photography Award was held in Barcelona, a black and white photography contest named after the author for his work in Barcelona Blanc i Negre.
In 1998 the town of Palafrugell named a route between the beaches of Calella de Palafrugell and Llafranc after Miserachs. The Biennial of Photography Xavier Miserachs, dedicated to documentary photography, is also held in Palafrugell. In the biennials of 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2010 exhibitions were held of Miserachs' work.
The exhibition hall on the ground floor of the Palace of the Viceroy's wife in Barcelona was, between December 17, 1998 and 2010, named in honour of Miserachs. In 2010, Xavier Sala Miserachs moved to the old Hall of Numismatics, and the ground floor was renamed Virreina Lab.

Archive

Miserachs' archive includes approximately 60,000 negatives, 20,000 slides, 2,500 contact sheets, notebooks with personal notes, administrative documentation, and part of his personal library. Since 2011 it has been housed in the Research and Documentation Center Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona.

Books

He published several photo books, most with text in Catalan or Spanish.

YearOriginal NamingText byDescriptionPublisherRef.
1964Barcelona, blanc i negreJosep Maria EspinàsAymà
1966Costa Brava showManuel Vázquez i Peter CoughtryKairós
1966Conversaciones en CataluñaSalvador PànikerInterviews with Josep Pla, Ana María Matute, Josep Maria Gironella, Salvador Espriu, Josep Maria de Porcioles, Antoni Tàpies, Josep Maria Subirachs or Salvador Dalí among others.Kairós
1967Los cachorrosMario Vargas LlosaLumen
1967El arte prerrománico asturianoAntonio Bonet CorreaPolígrafa
1969Conversaciones en MadridSalvador PànikerInterviews with Camilo José Cela, Antonio Buero Vallejo, Aranguren, Sáenz de Oiza among others.Kairós
1978Andalucía BarrocaAntonio Bonet CorreaPolígrafa
1982Catalunya des del marCarles BarralCollection Vida i costums dels catalans.Edicions 62
1984Aprendre a conviureJosep Maria EspinàsAprende a conviure. Reflexions sobre civilitat.Caixa de Sabadell
1985Catalunya a vol d'ocellCarles Barral, Josep Maria AinaudEdicions 62
1987Barcelona a vol d'ocellMontserrat Roig i FransitorraEdicions 62
1987Passeig de MarXavier FebrésPasseig de mar: la costa catalana del delta de l'Ebre a Cotlliure.Ed. Plaza y Janés/Diari de Barcelona
1988Els barceloninsColita, Oriol Maspons, Ana María Moix, Terenci MoixEdicions 62
1988Les Barcelones del MónJ. Nuñez, Rafael PradasCaixa de Barcelona
1990Metros i MetròpolisXavier Febrés, Mercè SalaDiputació de Barcelona
1990Gran Teatre del LiceuWith Ferran Freixa.L'Avenç
1992El Gran Teatre del Liceu a SevillaRamon Pla i ArxéL'Avenç
1997L'Empordà, llibre de meravellesAntoni PuigverdEdicions 62
1995Ciutat Vella. Visions des d'una passióJoan Barril, Josep Maria Carandell, Josep Cuní, Arcadi Espada, Josep Maria Espinàs, Xavier Febrés, Patrícia Gabancho, Josep Maria Huertas, Josep M. Lladó, Lluís Permanyer, Alfred Rexach i Margarita Rivière.Lunwerg
1997Fulls de contacteXavier MiserachsPremi Gaziel 1997Edicions 62
1998Girona a Quatre VentsJoan Domènech i MonerLunwerg
1998Criterio fotográficoXavier MiserachsEditorial Omega
2004Conversaciones en Madrid y en CataluñaSalvador Pàniker i AlemanyreeditionKairós
2006Memòries de la Costa BravaRosa RegàsFotografies de F.Català Roca i MiserachsLupita Books

Main exhibits