Masó House

Masó House is the birthplace of Rafael Masó i Valentí (1880–1935). It is also one of the most important works of architecture in Girona. Offering unparalleled views of the city, it is the only one of the famous houses on the Onyar River open to the public. The house has been preserved with the furniture and decoration in Noucentisme style. .

A cursory study of the facade reveals Masó House was the result of the merging of four separate dwellings acquired by the Masó Valentí family between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. Today's facade is the result of the renovation work carried out by Rafael Masó between 1911 and 1919, the same time he unified and updated the interior spaces. The most outstanding element is the bow window on the third floor. On the ground floor, the architect's father managed the Masó Press, where he edited and printed the Diario de Gerona de Avisos y Noticias newspaper between 1889 and 1936. The large first-floor balcony was a privileged vantage point for watching the festivals and parades on Ballesteries Street.

In 1911-12, Masó renovated the main entrance to the house, with the intention of reinforcing the image and prestige of his family by forging links with old Girona tradition. To his end, he combined elements from history (heraldic coats of arms on the tiled wainscoting), religion ( St Narcissus bas-relief and St Paula panel), and the vernacular architecture (semi-circular arches, wrought iron, stonework, and glazed ceramics).

The predominance of wood, and the cream and chocolate colors of the hall transmit a warm, welcoming feeling to the home. The repetition of vertical, elongated geometrical shapes (decorative frieze below the ceiling, wainscoting, and stairway woodwork), and the brightness coming from the skylight at the back enabled Masó to create a sense of large, orderly, sober space. An outstanding feature is the French clock dating from the mid-19th century.

The dining room was the scene of all the family celebrations. In this room, Masó was best able to express the noucentista concept of the home as an austere but comfortable place, a harmonious whole with great attention to detail, of humble traditional appearance but filled with cultured references. Outstanding features include objects designed by the architect, in particular the hanging lamp, the stained glass, the sideboard, and the cabinet, as well as the Woman with bundle (ca 1906) figure by noucentista sculptor Enric Casanovas.

Due to the slight curve of the River Onyar at this point, the glassed-in galleries provide a unique perspective of the River Onyar and its bridges, as well as the other houses overlooking the river. These were spaces for sewing, mending, and embroidering the enormous amount of clothing and household linen belonging to the large Masó family. The architect himself designed monograms and other motifs for pillowcases, cushions, handkerchiefs, tablecloths, bedspreads and quilts, which were embroidered by his wife and his sisters. In the gallery, we can see several planters designed by Masó with a geometrical decoration very similar to that used by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and to the Gitterwerk conceived by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser for the Wiener Werkstätte.

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Wikipedia