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Este
es el texto en inglés, si quiere leerlo en español pulse:
http://delcipangoalspango.blogspot.com.es/2018/02/la-espana-de-ortiz-echague.html
THIS
STUDY RESUMES MY ARTICLE "ORTIZ-ECHAGÜE: LAST PORTRAIT OF
SPAIN"; THAT I PUBLISHED A FEW DAYS IN "ART, SYMBOLOGY AND
HUMANISM". TO THE INTERESTED IN THIS WE INVITE YOU TO VISIT IT
IN THE LINK:
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ABOVE: Canvas
by Antonio Ortiz-Echagüe (life size) entitled "Nude" and
property of the Museum of Fine Arts of Buenos Aires -that we thank
for allowing us to disclose the image-. José's older brother was
already a successful painter in the twenties, and resided in the
magnificent town of Madrid called "Fuente del Berro", where
he portrayed the members of the Spanish aristocracy. With their
splendid cabriolet car they traveled both the streets and highways of
Spain; the older brother capturing in his canvases that which aroused
his interest and the youngest photographing as much as he could. José
Ortiz-Echagüe commented that this was one of the happiest times of
his life; when after returning from Africa and working as an engineer
in the company C.A.S.A., he accompanied his brother to dedicate
himself to his photographic hobby. Along with Antonio, he had to
learn a lot about space, composition, color and painting; everything
that will always be reflected in the images he took.
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A
lot has been written about the life of José Ortiz-Echagüe, given
his genius and his wit, his character and courage; his mood and his
talent. Although the best dictated and funniest biography; in my
opinion it is, the one that his two daughters narrated in the program
of Spanish Television "La mirada fotográfica" (1)
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Where we can understand that Ortiz-Echagüe was not only an intrepid
and risky military pilot, in addition to a hard-working student of
mechanics (founder of companies such as S.E.A.T. or C.A.S.A.). But
fundamentally a man of great culture and an unimaginable aesthetic
and historical sense. All this arose from unparalleled experiences;
lived in war, in the arts and in industry (sometimes very hard).
Thanks to what would create and direct some of the most important
mechanical companies in our country; becoming aware that the cars and
planes built in them would change the face of the Spanish countryside
and towns. For all this, he devoted a large part of his life to
photographing them; obtaining some of the most beautiful images
obtained in the Hispanic rural environment. Photographs in black and
white where the typical and aesthetic way in which our people lived,
is reflected in a brilliant way, until barely half a century ago.
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His
life begins in 1886, in the middle of a colony crisis and when the
"old Spanish empire" was sunk and facing the disaster. He
had a young pictorial vocation (like his brother) that apparently was
truncated by his father; who claimed no one could support more than
one artist child. Therefore, that illusion was distracted or replaced
with the gift of a camera when she was twelve years old (in 1998). To
this first liking by the painting, they followed some forced studies
of military engineer and their destiny in the War of Africa (from
1909 to 1922). Where he had as mission to travel in a hot air balloon
taking photos of the enemy, remembering Ortiz-Echagüe always how it
was "unpleasant" to go in the basket and hear the bullets
of the enemy whistling. Later he becomes the third Spanish air pilot
and returns from Tangier after suffering a plane crash; after which
he dismounted the plane in which he had crashed. It manages to
understand the mechanics of airplanes and thanks to this circumstance
the aeronautical industry in Spain began in 1923, to be able to
create airplanes similar to the one that had been dismantled
-founding C.A.S.A. : Aeronautical Constructions S.A.-. Facts that
would allow him to create the SEAT factory twenty-five years later,
when there was no other Spanish automobile industry.
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BELOW:
Below
are two examples that illustrate the "pictorialism" in
Ortiz-Echagüe's images. On the left, his photograph taken in the
forties and titled "Castellano de Sepúlveda" -we thank the
Museo del Traje de Madrid, allow us to disclose the images of his
property-. On the right, an oil on canvas by Ignacio Zoluaga painted
in 1909 and exhibited at the Reina Sofía, entitled "Tipo de
Segovia" - we thank this museum for letting us know about it-.
It seems that the photographer was fleeing from the epithet of
"pictorialist", arguing that his images were not, nor were
they based on paintings; although the pictorial influences in all his
work are undoubted. About the author and his evident pictorial roots,
writes Fco. Javier Zubiaur Carreño in 1990: "Insisting on the"
pictorialism "of Ortiz-Echagüe may seem a wasteful task when he
has rejected it. But the teacher, in addition to incurring
contradictions in this regard (...), uses a method of developing,
with an aquamarine appearance, which favors results as pictorial as
subtle "(...)" Because, in fact, deep down the photograph
of Ortiz-Echagüe, the footprint of the painting is noticed, mainly
Spanish " (2)
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.
This
businessman and artist certainly wanted to stop time with his camera;
reflecting what life was like during those days when he still managed
to retain with his "snapshot" the forms of a past that
gradually disappeared. Although to that ethnographic and conservative
spirit, it is necessary to unite its life of risky adventurer and its
character of intrepid and untiring trashumante. Admiring the high
technology and at the same time by the Hispanic "costumbrismo";
All this makes him a "man of the Renaissance" halfway
between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. With an interest in
the Spanish typism equal to that which had been expressed by romantic
travelers; likewise, he had unparalleled knowledge of mechanics and
aeronautics. What coupled with its tremendous value, which allowed
him to travel thousands of meters high in airplanes and cloth
balloons and basket. It makes him an intrepid conqueror of heaven;
whose illusion was that those planes and cars manufactured by him,
brought progress and communications to rural areas. Although, as the
laws of Murfy say, "in every good action there is an enormous
social penance"; and the pain of Ortiz-Echagüe was to observe
how while the country progressed, nobody was interested in popular
culture. Leaving abandoned the villages, where their constructions,
customs and traditions were diluted; without concern of the elites,
nor help for a possible recovery of that past loaded with cultural
wealth.
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ON THE SIDE: Photograph
by José Ortiz-Echagüe with his camera. We reproduce the image,
taken from the article by Francisco Javier Zubiaur Carreño: "The
evocative power of Ortiz-Echagüe's images" (3)
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I have drawn several lines on the photo, with which we can understand
the way in which the author worked the image (because of
triangulations and classical proportions of beauty).
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We
do not know if Ortiz-Echagüe, before taking an image, drew a plan
according to linear proportions or perspective theories from
classical painting. For it is certainly easy to draw a triangulation
on a canvas; or draw on a support a distribution of scenes, based on
equal sections and golden proportions. But it is not possible to do
the same when we take a photograph; unless several shots are taken
and then worked on when positive. As manifested, we believe that
Ortiz-Echagüe -as a technician and engineer that was- would rehearse
the photos, and then "place them" according to "fi"
or perfectly studied triangles and rectangles. Something - that in my
opinion - would do from his youth, to know already by then the
theories of space or pictorial perspective; whose laws instinctively
applied in his viewer and worked meticulously to positivar images.
Facts that we can see reflected in the first photos he kept, taken
with only seventeen years and where the theory of painting is
observed with great care (as in the case of "Preaching in the
village").
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PHOTOS,
ABOVE AND BELOW: The
castle of the Iruela in Jaén, photographed by Ortiz-Echagüe in 1954
-we thank the University of Navarra for letting us divulge the
image-. In the upper photo we see the scene as the author prepares
it. In the one below I present the cuts that I could intuit, to
create equal proportions.
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IMAGES
ABOVE AND BELOW THESE LINES: Mota
del Marqués photographed by Ortiz-Echagüe (the image lacks
copyright, although we thank the University of Navarra for allowing
us to disclose it). Below, my study of diagonals and lines, to square
the image according to pictorial proportions.
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ABOVE AND BELOW: Photo of Ortiz-Echagüe entitled "Albercanas" -we thank al Museo del Traje de Madrid, for letting us divulge it-. Below, we see a studio where, to my knowledge, the image is composed of several interrupted or simultaneous scenes.
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After
years of destiny in the war of Africa flying a hot air balloon - from
which he obtained images of the enemy - he was the number three
aviator of our country. But after five years achieving that
qualification crashed in Bordeaux, leaving miraculously unscathed
from the accident. To understand the character of Ortiz-Echagüe we
must remember that after this event he wanted to recover the pieces
of the aircraft, to study the causes of the accident. Achieving to
understand with it how the airplanes worked, thus creating the first
Spanish aeronautical factory. After this explanation and with all the
aforementioned data, we will understand that the photographer would
interpret his existence as a true miracle. Since the twenty years had
faced continuously to death in the most dangerous ways, leaving
always unharmed. Because the fortune of staying alive would grant him
enormous faith, as happens with those who play life repeatedly (as
happens between bullfighters). Having faith in God as deep as
accurate; what should have marked the existence of Ortiz-Echagüe, as
well as his photographs. The aforementioned can help us to interpret
his series of religious images; that begins in his youth and in which
he progresses by working them, without ever abandoning this source of
inspiration.
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ON
OUR SIDE AND UNDER THESE LINES: Next
to it, Francisco Zurbarán painting -San Francisco contemplating
calavera- dated in 1634 and property of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
(to which we are grateful we can divulge it). We have passed their
colors to black and white to compare the scene with the photos of
Ortiz-Echagüe. Below, image of Ortiz-Echagüe titled "White
Monk", dated in 1945 and that I have framed in brown, to grant
him the appearance of a painting -we thank the University of Navarra
for letting us divulge the photograph-. The coincidences between both
scenes are indisputable; despite the fact that Ortiz-Echagüe was
annoyed by the epithet "pictorialist".
BELOW:
Studyof
the previous image, in lines, to understand that it is composed in
the form of a cross and a pyramid (like a cross-kick like Malta).
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ABOVE
AND UNDER THESE LINES: Above,
image of Ortiz-Echagüe that reflects the monks of Santa Ma. De
Huerta, dated in 1945 and that we have framed to give the appearance
of a painting - we thank the University of Navarra for allowing us to
disseminate the photograph -. Below, cut the same photo in two equal
parts, to observe the identical proportion between the upper and
lower zone (which may well be two different images).
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ABOVE
AND BELOW THESE LINES: Above,
image of Ortiz-Echagüe entitled "Dominicos in Santo Tomás de
Ávila", dated 1954 and which we have framed to give it the
appearance of a painting -we thank the University of Navarra for
allowing us to disseminate the photograph- . Below, study of scene
and shadows by triangulation. Observe the exact manner in which the
roof of the cloister squares with the line of the upper central
triangle; all or that would denote that you have been positive using
a template or rule (to achieve that perfect disposition).
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DOWN OF THESE LINES: Famous
photo of Ortiz-Echagüe entitled "Sermon in the village"
(dated 1903). Apparently, before entering the engineering school, he
went to this parish of Viguera (in La Rioja); where he took some
images that came out moved. A short time later he would return to
that village and after convincing the neighborhood, together with the
priest, that all would pose for him (promising to give them copies,
so that they could send them to their relatives in America); He
achieved this second photograph with half a minute of exposure.
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ABOVE
AND DOWN: Again,
different studies of the same photograph. In the top we see that
there are two to three totally different scenes (as it happens in
many other photos of the author). Below this composition is observed
in different pictures, cut with lines on the image.
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Without
a doubt, Ortiz-Echagüe knew that with his generation the Spain of
Murillo and Zurbarán would disappear. Extinguishing with them the
nation that knew how to paint the still life with light of sublimated
hunger; or to represent the monk as an Adonis with sayo, whose
extreme thinness only meant sobriety. A disappearance that became
true precisely in the years of Ortiz-Echagüe's death (1980). When
that Spain also died; being replaced by a Society that little by
little is forgetting much of its essence. For what we say, the
photographer imbued since childhood with these ideas of regeneration
and modernism, will use something as current as a machine (of photos)
to present and collect his real Spain. A millennial nation called
Hispania since Roman times and that he will preserve in his photos of
people, fields and monuments. Reflecting that nation which in turn
was an ancestral culture, heir to the Mediterranean, Islamic and
Christian world; diffuser of Catholicism throughout America. How much
he reflects in his images of typical costumes, popular architectures
and their religious prints.
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TOGETHER
AND UNDER THESE LINES:
Famous photograph taken in 1897 and in which we can see the Dama de
Elche with her discoverer; the farmer Manuel Campello, who dug it up
on his farmland. The discovery of pieces like this one and their
comparison with the regional costumes that at that time were kept as
common dresses in Spain, provoked a new wave of historical
patriotism. In this case motivated by the enormous decline that our
country lived and based on a cultural pride of Spain. Ideas that
supported characters such as Joaquín Costa; a cultured man of
enormous intelligence who managed to make the Spaniards understand
how our country was a nation and a millenarian civilization of
enormous historical importance.
BELOW:
Two
photographs of the Dama of Elche as it is currently exhibited by the
National Archaeological Museum. In the center, a photograph of
Ortiz-Echagüe entitled "Charras" and published on the blog
of Aldeávila -we thank the University of Navarra for letting us
disclose it-. Comparing the Lady of Elche, with the jewelery, the
dress and the mode of grooming of these charras; It is evident that
the Iberian culture and sculpture -from the sixth century BC- is the
direct antecedent of this form of dress and ornamentation in the
Hispanic people.
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BELOW:
Show
how much we say the examples we see in photographs mounted under
these lines. Where we have in the first place (on the left) an
Iberian "lady" in a bronze ex-voto dating to the 5th
century BC. and coming from Castellar de los Jardines (property of
the Archaeological Museum of Barcelona, which we thank for
allowing us to disseminate the images). In the center, a lady of La
Alberca (Salamanca) with its dress of "views" (wedding or
luxury clothing) and its necklaces. Whose dress, headdress and jewels
are almost the same as those we see in the previous Iberian ex-voto -
this photo is also taken from the book by Carlos Piñel, LA BELLEZA
QUE PROTEGE -THE BEAUTY THAT PROTECTS- (4)
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On the right, the Lady Offerress of the Cerro de los Santos dating to
the 4th century BC.; from Montealegre del Castillo, a site found
around 1870 along with Yecla -owned by the M.A.N. to which we are
grateful, allows us to divulge our image-. The three types share
their dress, hair and jewelry; being in some cases exactly the
hairstyles, costumes and Iberian goldwork, to the popular Spanish.
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BELOW:
Similar
to those of the Ancient Iberia, are the striking headdresses of the
Segovians or the hats of Montehermoso, which are so abundant in the
Spanish folk costumes. As an example of this we can see in the image
below these lines: On the left, two women on the day of santa Águeda
de Zamarramala (as shown by the Rodera-Robles in Segovia museum). In
the center, three lesser ladies of the Cerro de los Santos (as
exhibited by the M.A.N.). On the right, a woman from Monterhermoso in
Ortiz-Echagüe's photo (we thank all the institutions for allowing us
to divulge the images). Observe the resemblance in all types of
clothing and jewelry.
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We
do not know if Ortiz-Echagüe would get to know all the parallels
between the Iberian culture and the peninsular folklore; Many of them
were discovered after 1975 (when the photographer was already sick
and in the process of losing his sight). In spite of everything, it
is certain that he intuited them, in the same way that he would know
the incalculable value of that world that disappeared before his
eyes. An immaterial cultural heritage of immeasurable weight and that
between the seventies and the nineties almost came to an end. When in
most of the towns they substitute the sacred celebrations and the
patron saints - held until then in a traditional way -; for disco
dances and for fads coming from the cities (little valuable and very
noisy). Invading by then the neighborhood to the town, turning into
suburbs those populations that until then had conserved their
history, their traditions and their millenarian celebrations. So much
so that many of these customs and cultural heritage can be traced
back to the Bronze Age, as we will show below.
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BELOW:
Headdresses
of the referred nuns of Las Huelgas, as published by La Estampa.
Along with these images, sculptures of the Cerro de los Santos (4th
to 2nd century BC) whose priestesses also wear pointed caps and
elaborate costumes.
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Below,
photo
of lagarteranas taken by Kindel in the sixties. As we can see, the
embroidery techniques of the costume of lights are very similar to
those used in the garments of Lagartera or in the Charras, all that
managed to sow cultural and artisan wealth in these lands of Spain.
For nothing is more impoverishing than the tracksuit (as an article
of clothing); that not only saddens the streets with the image of
young people dressed in such fashion, but also prevents the creation
of a fashion industry. In order to understand how rich this folklore
was and the beauty of the costumes and customs of the charros and
Extremadura; We recommend watching two short videos filmed in Miranda
del Castañar and in Lagartera just a few decades ago.
CLICK
ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
LAGARTERANA
WEDDING 1973:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmnZI_fqVqI
TRADICIONES
EN MIRANDA DEL CASTAÑAR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6WxkayPqrE
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TOGETHER
AND DOWN: Along
these lines, pieces of the treasure of El Carambolo (tartessio,
around the 6th century BC) -as MAN exhibits them in reproduction-. In
the design of these jewels, whose weight exceeds three kilos, we see
the aesthetic that will dominate all the goldsmithing and peninsular
embroidery for millennia. Being very similar to the Spanish popular
jewels and also to the Hispanic fabrics and suits; like those of a
bullfighter or Valencian and others who have worn themselves in the
Peninsula since pre-Roman times. Below, mannequins and display
cabinets with earrings and necklaces from the Provincial Museum of
Cáceres and Ávila -to whom we thank for allowing us to disseminate
the images-. In the images we can see the typical Montehermoso or
Avuleian areas, together with pieces of popular goldsmiths of the
XVIII and XIX centuries (so similar to the pre-Roman ones).
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TO
THE SIDE AND BELOW: Along
these lines girl of the town of Monsanto (Portugal) showing the
rooster -photo M. Castelo Branco, to whom we thank allows us to
divulge it-. The rooster as a totem is Celtic, and the chicken did
not exist in Europe until the Indo-Europeans imported it from areas
close to Asia, raising it throughout the continent and getting to
know the dispersion of the Gaelic peoples. One of the most important
groups was the Celtic sailing branch of Portus-Galo (Gallic port)
where the rooster is the emblematic animal; as a totem of
masculinity, war, the cosmic egg and solar sunrise. Due to what those
tribes that worshiped the chickens, they took or gave their name to
the animal (the roosters). Below, a curious character dressed in a
cape and who could find me in the streets of Monsanto, while walking
through the streets of this beautiful and megalithic town.
BELOW:
Photograph
where I appear, taken about three years ago at Monsanto, where we can
see its unique houses and buildings, erected between large natural
megaliths.
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We
would have to ask ourselves what happened between 1950 and 1980 so
that in just three decades many of the main uses, customs and
traditions that had been maintained for millennia in our lands
disappeared. So much so that in those three decades we can say that
they changed to beliefs and ways of life - not only in Spain, but
also in a large part of Europe. Moving from confessional Societies to
semi-laic states and countries that conserved their ancestral roots,
to uprooted nations and with huge identity crises. The Second World
War did mark an undeniable transformation in History and the Age of
Metals was completely overcome. From the moment that nuclear weapons
appeared and the use of plastics became common. Facts that would
cause the final end of the Iron Age and the beginning of the Nuclear
Age or Age of plastics.
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TOGETHER
AND UNDER THESE LINES: Two
photographs of the thirties made by Juan Miguel Pando Barrero in
Candelario (showing "charras" women). Pando Barrero was a
great friend of Ortiz-Echagüe. And despite having a different
ideology and a different way of dealing with images, they were always
very close; everything that made of both artists, complementary
collaborators. J. Miguel Pando was born in 1915; He was about twenty
years younger than O-Echagüe and was so inspired by him, that he
also worked with charras or in Extremadura, as well as a series on
Morocco.
BELOW:
"The
dwarf Gregorio; worker of leather containers in Sepúlveda "by
Zoluaga; next to him "Uncle Tarugo de Sepúlveda" (photo by
Ortiz-Echagüe). Possibly, seventy or a hundred years ago, these
images caused strangeness and even the contempt of some (calling them
terrible and in bad taste). But today they are a manifestation of a
Spain that has ended, a country that thanks to Zoluoaga and José
Ortiz-Echagüe has been able to keep in memory and reach our days.
Everything that demonstrates the value of the popular, even in its
smallest expressions - however insignificant it sometimes seems to
us.
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CITAS:
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(1):
A
los interesados en consultar la obra de José Ortiz Echagüe,
recomendamos estos dos enlaces:
ORTIZ
ECHAGÜE EN LOS MUSEOS:
MUSEO
UNIVERSIDAD DE NAVARRA:
.
Acerca
de las diferentes biografías de José Ortiz Echagüe liberadas en la
red. Recomendamos el siguiente enlace, que se trata de una
documentada conferencia:
JOSÉ
ORTIZ ECHAGUE UN GENTIL HOMBRE CON CÁMARA
.
Aunque
donde conoceremos mejor la vida y persona del fotógrafo, es en el
relato biográfico que realizan sus hijas en el programa de TVE “La
mirada fotográfica”:
LA
MIRADA FOTOGRÁFICA CAPÍTULO 1 JOSE ORTIZ ECHAGUE (dirigida por Jose
Luis López-Linares)
.
(2):
"El
poder evocador de las imágenes de Ortiz-Echagüe". Artículo
publicado en el catálogo de la exposición "José Ortiz-Echagüe
fotógrafo". Pamplona, Universidad de Navarra (Departamento de
Comunicación Audiovisual), 1990.
Autor:
Fco Javier Zubiaur Carreño.
En
la red; pulsar enlace:
..
(3):
Ibidem
cita anterior (2)
..
(4):
AGRADECEMOS
AL PROFESOR PIÑEL NOS PERMITA DIVULGAR LAS IMÁGENES DE SU LIBRO:
La
Belleza que protege
Carlos
Piñel
Caja
España, Zamora 1998
