A Rapid Recap
By MOA Student Marketing Assistants Ellie Snow, Ashley Miller, and McKenna Evans
The morning session of Friday's Spain and the Hispanic World Symposium opened with the keynote speaker, Dr. James Clifton. Dr. Clifton gave a presentation on the subject matter of the sculptures in the exhibit entitled The Four Last Things (alternatively, The Fates of Man), showing how the successive stages of death, hell, purgatory, and heaven have been represented in Catholic art through various mediums including engraving, framed relief, and painting.
Understanding the “Four Last Things” (death, hell, purgatory, and heaven) is key to understanding what imagery and dogma have come to shape the Catholic belief in the afterlife. Dr. Clifton taught that these sculptures were meant to be interacted with in a personal, devotional setting. They were to remind the viewer of what awaited them after this life.
Following Dr. Clifton’s remarks, presentations were given by BYU students Kendall da Silva, Chase Tippetts, and Emily Wells.
Kendall presented on José Gutiérrez Solana’s Masked Street Musicians, a work depicting impoverished street musicians performing. Solana’s critique of urban modernity centers on his garish color palette and pessimistic tone. The masks worn by the street musicians put them in a performative role to please the upper class, ultimately dehumanizing them.
Chase presented on the art of Juan de Valdés Leal and how the Council of Trent shaped his artwork. Held in a series of sessions between 1545 and 1563, the Council of Trent mandated that religious art should beckon the worshipper toward a state of increased piety. Chase showed various examples of how Leal used color and vivid imagery to inspire devotion in the viewers of his artwork.
Emily presented on the depiction of Mary as Stella Maris (or star of the sea) in Fray Alonso López de Herrera’s Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. In this work, Mary functions as the guiding star of a ship sailing on the seas. This unique depiction of Mary highlights the Catholic doctrine of immaculate conception.
This afternoon’s session opened with discussion on textiles and symbolism in Spanish art. Dr. Elliott Wise, an associate professor in Art History and Curatorial Studies for Brigham Young University, spoke on the role of textiles in Spain and the Hispanic World. In the past, clothing was considered precious and a status symbol. A few pieces, such as the exhibition's portrayal of Gaspar de Guzmán by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Veláquez, depict Spanish court members as clothed in black, a color that symbolized both royalty and the clergy at the time. Some artworks also use gold in clothing to represent the light of Christ.
Then, three student scholars discussed the meanings of symbols in various Spanish art pieces in the exhibition. Paige Barney spoke on the symbolism used across Islamic and Christian cultures in Spanish art. Symbols, such as holy thistles and hands, could have been used to bring unity to Islamic and Christian communities during a fearful time in European history. The symbols represent the two cultures' efforts to look to God for spiritual and physical protection.
Another scholar, Addison Sepulveda, spoke about connections between Christ Carrying the Cross by Juan de Valdés Leal and Holy Week processional Spanish sculptures. Sepulveda highlighted the connections between the weight of the cross on Christ’s back and his gaze to the left corner of the painting, where a devout member would have prayed. In both Leal’s work and Spanish sculptures, Christ looks at each soul and provides a path for them to follow him.
Zerin Likes discussed the hidden symbolism of the Virgin Mary in El Greco’s The Penitent Saint Jerome. Likes linked the hidden symbolism in the depiction of Saint Jerome to Saint Jerome’s legendary love for Christ’s birth and the cave setting in El Greco’s piece. In addition, Likes pointed to the cloak wrapped around Saint Jerome and how the Virgin Mary is often depicted as protecting saints in a similar robe.
After a short break, Ivy Griffiths continued the afternoon session with her insights on Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta's The Penitents. She dove into the history of Spain, specifically at the time that Zuloaga lived. Spain had just lost the Spanish-American War which caused the nation as a whole to reconsider who they were. This began a "cultural tug of war" between the past and present. This is apparent in "The Penitents" with somber tones and figures that are representing historical traditions and grappling with loss. The life-like statue of Christ suggests that Spain is bleeding. This intense and in-depth analysis of the country at this time was only possible because of Zuloaga and his unique perspective. Zuloaga, from Spain, spent time abroad in France. Each time he came back to his home country, Zuloaga was able to see with fresh eyes the shift happening in Spain. His raw and emotional work shows how he saw the state of his country.
Hanna Mosher compared the burdens of the body and the burdens of the heart in the painting Christ Carrying the Cross by Juan de Valdés Leal. She pointed out symbols that represent a burden of the body, such as bleeding, and a burden of the heart, such as tears. The painting becomes more impactful when realizing separate parts of the painting are related to Holy Week processions. Hanna makes it clear how individuals can place themselves into these Holy Week experiences, especially groups that are left out, such as women who were not involved in the carrying of pasos floats.
Abby Jafek spoke about The Four Fates of Man by Manuel Chili, known as Caspicara. She was able to describe the purpose of wooden sculpture. It was used to vividly recall the suffering of Christ and breathe life into believers due to the realness of the sculptures. She explained the process and detail that goes into each wooden sculpture.
Abby provided a detailed account of the artwork, explaining its known origin in Quito, Ecuador, and noting the unknown aspects, including its purpose, target audience, and how it eventually arrived in Provo, Utah. She concludes with a powerful statement saying: "Just as these figures were shaped, morphed and detailed to perfection, we can also be molded into new creatures of museum attendance, conscious of the intermingling of varying cultures, narrative and creative processes present in Colonial Latin American pieces." May we all remember to be more curious about the pieces we see.
