Hermenegildo Anglada-Camarasa

Mario Mercatali, Buenos Aires (by 1955)
Sale: Sotheby's, Madrid, 16 December 1987, lot 45
Purchased at the above sale by the father of the present owner; thence by descent

Buenos Aires, Galerías Velázquez, Exposición-homenaje a la Institución Cultural Española, 1955 (as a study for El Tango de la corona)

Francesc Fontbona & Francesc Miralles, Anglada-Camarasa, Madrid, 1981, p. 286, Da99, catalogued & illustrated
Ramon Llull, 'El tango e la Corona se incorpora al Museo Anglada Camarasa', in Baleares, Palma de Mallorca, 6 July 1971, illustrated

The canvas has not been lined. There are some deposits in the upper and lower framing edge which have adhered to the painting surface (as visible in the catalogue illustration). Ultra-violet light reveals a small area of retouching in the far lower left corner and one spot below the signature. The work is overall in good condition and ready to hang. Presented in a simple gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work reflects the artist's lasting interest in the themes of Mallorcan Flamenco unfolding under arbours in open landscapes. Anglada first explored the theme as early as 1901 in Danza española (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg), which led approximately 9 years later to his monumental composition of 360 by 512cm, El Tango de la corona. Although the present work was held to be a study for this large work at its exhibition in 1955, Fontbona & Miralles suggest it was painted somewhat later, datable to the artist's first Mallorca period (1914-36).

Plaintive yet passionate, earthy yet full of grace, the Spanish gitana has been all but synonymous with Spain since her kinsfolk first landed on Iberia's shores in the fifteenth century from as far afield as India. The Spanish came to revere but also fear gypsies because of their nomadic way of life and the freedoms it seemed to allow. For some three hundred years, they were persecuted, their settlements broken up, their language and rituals denied them. Yet, paradoxically, the hardship they endured nurtured a whole subculture most nobly embodied by dance and the flamenco.

By the nineteenth century, Spain had embraced Gypsy myth and lore. The Romantics were in awe of the gypsies for their otherworldliness and seeming ability to commune with nature, while the following generation of artists and writers, driven by patriotism in the wake of Spain's colonial losses, venerated the gypsy as the quintessential icon of Spanish identity. Nonell, Zuloaga, and Solana were among Anglada's contemporaries who endowed the gitana with a gravitas, at times playful, at times austere, that linked her inextricably with Spain's psyche.