It is in Almàssera, a little rural community, fifteen minutes away from the city of Valencia, Spain, where the three children of farmers Juan Lladró Cortina and Rosa Dolz Pastor were born. Juan was born in 1926 followed by José in 1928 and the youngest Vicente in 1932.
Lladró Brothers Birthplace Home
After finishing their primary studies, the three young men, helped the family with their agriculture activities. However, their mother Rosa, always dreaming of a better future for her boys, encouraged different work opportunities other than farming, and they started working at the Azulejera Valenciana company at the young age of fifteen. She also motivated them to continue their education by attending night classes at the San Carlos de Valencia Arts and Crafts School. It was there where the three brothers individuality begun to be expressed. Juan and José learned drawing, painting and decorative design while Vicente studied sculpture.
After completing the military service and fulfilled their patriotic duty, the three brothers secured jobs at the prominent tableware manufacturing company of Victor Nalda where their main focus was decoration. Their studies at the Arts and Crafts School, motivated them to build a small Moorish style furnace in their parents backyard, to apply their new learnings and earn additional income. Their ceramic works included vases, jugs and small flowers that were sold at local markets. Conflicts with their supervisors at Victor Nalda factory prompted them to resign their jobs and in 1953 the Lladró company was founded.
First Lladró Furnace
The first few years were characterized by great difficulties, however, the demand for their creations increased and a bigger new furnace, with the capacity for high temperatures, was required for their new dreams. The economic situation was not favorable to make it a reality, until they became aware of an abandoned furnace due to defects in construction. They decided to rent it and after taking turns to correct the errors, the new furnace worked excellently. It was here where the first Lladró porcelain was created and the evolution from ceramics to porcelain took place.
The new figurines by the younger brother, Vicente Lladró, and the additional Lladro sculptors such as Fulgencio García, Amparo Amador, José Rausell and Antonio Arnal suggested themes from the XVIII century, following in the foot steps of international artists from the Meissen company in Germany, Sèvres in France and Capodimonte in Italy.
Following are a selection of Lladró 1950’s works by the youngest brother Vicente Lladró:
Regional Dance Baby Deer and Bunny Regional Dress
1956 1955 1956
By 1958 Lladró was growing in revenues and the brothers decided to move their small business from Almassera to a factory in Tavernes Blanques neighboring town. This was the moment to introduce new design and styles but also new manufacturing procedures that created the beautiful crystalline finish and the pastel colors typical of Lladró works of today.
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