Jacinto Grau Delgado (1877 – 14 August 1958) was a Spanish writer. Best known for his plays, and his theoretical approach to theater, he also wrote essays, short stories, and criticism.[1]

Jacinto Grau
Born1877
Barcelona, Spain
Died14 August 1958
Buenos Aires, Argentina
NationalityCatalan

Life

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Grau was born in Barcelona. He served as the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Loyalist Spain to Panama during the Spanish Civil War.[2] Following the war he emigrated to Argentina, where he died in exile in 1958.[3]

Career

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Grau published twenty-five plays over the course of fifty-five years.[4] His most celebrated work is El señor de Pigmalión (1921), which remained relatively unknown in Spain during his lifetime, though it was successful in Europe and Latin America.[1] Grau has stated that he writes plays 'with the greatest intensity possible within the limits of classical harmony'.[5]:23-24

His work is 'anti-realistic', and heavily influenced by George Bernard Shaw, as well as Henrik Ibsen, Jean Anouihl and Buero Vallejo.[4]:269-70 His contemporary critics 'universally' identified his theatre as avant-garde, though Grau 'scorned avant-garde theatre'.[6] Modern scholars have identified him as a 'psychological idealist'.[5]:23

He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949.[7]

 
El conde Alarcos - tragedia romancesca en tres actos (IA elcondealarcostr24718grau)

Plays

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Play Year Published Year Premiered Location Premiered
El Conde Alarcos 1917
El hijo pródigo 1918 1918
El Mismo daño 1921
El señor de Pigmalión 1921 1923 Charles Dullin's L'Atelier (Paris)[8]:135
La Casa del Diablo 1933
En Ildaria
Entre Llamas
El Caballero Varona

References

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  1. ^ a b DÍAZ, JANET WINECOFF, 'Jacinto Grau and His Concept of the Theater', in Revista de Estudios Hispánicos; University, Alabama Vol. 5, Iss. 2,  (May 1, 1971): 203.
  2. ^ TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (1937-11-20). "PANAMA RECEIVES GRAU; Minister of Loyalist Spain Is Presented to Arosemena (Published 1937)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  3. ^ "Grau, Jacinto | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  4. ^ a b Kronik, John W. (1969). "Art and Ideology in the Theater of Jacinto Grau". Kentucky Romance Quarterly. 16 (3): 261–276. doi:10.1080/03648664.1969.9932985. ISSN 0364-8664.
  5. ^ a b Peers, Edgar Allison (1964). A History of the Romantic Movement in Spain. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-1-001-40971-9.
  6. ^ Ezell, Richard Lee (1971). The Theatre of Jacinto Grau: A Depiction of Man (PDF). Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oklahoma.
  7. ^ Nobel Prize (2020-04-01). "Nomination Archive". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  8. ^ Giuliano, William (1950). "Jacinto Grau's "El señor de Pigmalión"". The Modern Language Journal. 34 (2): 135–143. doi:10.2307/318839. ISSN 0026-7902. JSTOR 318839.