Alberto Gironella's piece The Black Queen, really stuck out to me in the reading for this week. The piece itself did not grab my attention so much as its comparison to Diego Velazquez's Mariana of Austria. The text says that Gironella was "fascinated by the dark and hidden history and legend of the Spanish Court." The piece in the text is one of many takes on Mariana produced by Gironella. I couldn't find that one online to post here, but i found a few others (followed by Velazquez's original below). I've seen the original at the Prado in Madrid, and it upholds the staunch, propriety of classical European painting and the embodiment of the Spanish ruling class, along with the majority of paintings in the Prado and historical sites in Madrid. Gironella's treatment of the subject really communicates his disgust toward Spanish painting, and is, in his own words, "the product of the disillusionment of the conquest and plunder." His paintings seem to strip the layers off the facade of Spanish painting and expose it's dirty secrets and the "smell of sweat and garlic."
I couldn't find any info on Gironella online :/ does anyone have any sources? I'm intrigued...
Hi Niki,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I take the opposite view and regard Velazquez as the superior artist. It is clear that Gironella's agenda is to build other views of the Spaniards (related to their politics, oppression and/or culture?). However, to take the art of a superior artist and mock it does not really qualify as art in my eyes. The technique, the color, the image, the depiction, and the life which illuminates Velazquez work is the mark of a master. I would not give such honors to Gironella. He appears to be another artist that wishes to be different. Interesting? Sure, why not? But to go to the extreme of stripping "the layers off the facade of Spanish painting and expose its dirty secrets and the "smell of sweat and garlic"" is a bit too much. The pieces seem like rapid contradictory statements designed to make the art stick out in the public mind. Why use Velazquez as a vehicle?
FYI: I found Gironella's obituary from 1999 in the Independent (as you asked about online information):
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-alberto-gironella-1115680.html
I actually agree that Velazquez is the superior artist, but I do think Gironella carries his point across well. To be clear, I was saying that "his treatment of the subject communicates HIS disgust," not my own, and I'm not actually sure if he was criticizing Velazquez's work itself, rather, I think his criticism was aimed at the Spanish court itself, and the class affiliated with the conquest of South America. Though I do think it is a shame how the nature of artistic patronage in Velazquez's time put such emphasis on the ruling class, and wonder what subjects the great court painters would have chosen to portray had they not been employed by royalty...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link. Artists seem to have such interesting lives don't they?
Of course, it was quite clear it was Gironella's "disgust" and not your own. However, I wonder what the big deal was with Gironella's "sweat and garlic"? Anybody that eats great food and works hard will smell like that! Ha ha! It was interesting that you should mention what Velazquez would have painted if he did not have to abide to the commissions from the royal lineage in Spain. I was thinking in similar patterns yesterday. Still, aren't many modern artists in a similar situation unless they are independently wealthy or funded on grants?
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