The improvising harpist

              NEXus m u m
As the 20tli-centiiry draws to a cióse, if
diere is one year of the century that can
be singled out as determing Spanish
liistory, one yeai" that has conditioned iiot
oidv material and social gi'owtli but also
s])iritual and cultural development, it can
onlv be the disgraceful year of 1936. The
events that were unleashed in July oí' that
year liad been incubating for months
•nitlibi Spanish societs'; once alerted, and
vía die conscience oí unique personages
such as Miguel de Unamuno, there was no
hesitation in signalmg the dark
inevitabilitv of civil war. The bulk of the
ei'a's anxiet)' was txansinitted, with
vai'ving intensities and intentions. to the
art and literature of the time, in ])articnlar
to those linked to avant-gíuxle movements
and wiiicii were begining to stake out
their own distmct fields of expression
where young artists could feel secute. One
of these artists, .José Moreno Villa, did not
disgiiise lús emotion when recalling that
"since Picasso, art has not enjoyed such
liiierly and consequently such joy." [1]
With the surrealists, who were
transforrning themselves into new
apprentice sorcerers and were officiatiiig
as mediating messengers, the unchaining
of events in this petric dish could
converted into inspiration or into
another ingredient filtered through the
imconscious in works that renounced
formal dependencc in favor of greater
Creative receptivity. This has been seeii
in Lorca, Dalí. Maruja Mallo, Luis
Buñuel, etc; we find the same in .luán
Ismael and, in an unexpected exainple,
in a painting from that ill-fated vear.
Improvising
Until the date in question, the
work of .luán Ismael had passed through
its initial pilases, starting in 1928 when
he showed the "Gráficos marinos" in the
theatre Circo de Marte de Santa Cruz de
la Palma. Those early drawhigs showed
a svnthesis of the discovery of Néstor
Martín Fernández de la Torre, bolh
directiv and through niodern revisionist
readings of his work that studcnls in ihe
Escuela Lujan had undertaken. Amoiig
these students were Jorge Oramas and
Felo Monzón. Thev also showed an
avant-garde aspiration, encouraged by
liis earlv friendsliip with meinbers of the
Tenerife group: Pedro García Cabrera,
Emetcrio Gutiérrez Albelo, .losé Antonio
Rojas, Domingo López Torres, etc.
There were lo be Iwo exiiibitions
of the painter's work between 1928 and
I9.'3.'3. although he also participated in
collective exhibitions in the Escuela
Lujan in Las Palmas de Gran (ianaria
(1929) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife
(1930). The individual exhibitions took
place in 1930 and 1932 in Sania C:riiz
de Tenerife; they included many
paintings of which onlv a lew havc
survived to the present day. AU signs
seem to indícate that the first of these
exhibitions generally consisted of works
of a novice qualitv, in addition to the
drawings, while in the second he showed
his coUeagues the first specimens of his
recalled landscapes, although in botii
exhibitions he ventured to present
portraits of Domingo López Torres, .losé
Antonio Rojas, Agustín Espinosa, etc.,
which have yet to be found.
In 1932 Juan Ismael begins to
paint the Tenerife landscape as
rediscovered across distance and theory.
He settled in Madrid in March 1931
where he rejoined his cióse friends from
the Canarv Islands: Ramón Feria. Juan
Manuel Trujillo, Antonio Dorta, Lola de
la Torre, María Rosa Alonso, etc. As
E. Padorno suggests, the recalled
landscapes are the first attempt at
dislancing objects from visiljje realilv
[2]. At the same time they are a
melliodical approach lo ihe mysterv of
painting and. in particular, to the
expressive density of its |3overty, an
asceticism of rubisi rcminiscences that
would be transcriljed onto a lew
canvases in 1934. By the foUowing year
.luán Ismael opeiied the doors of his
miconscious. A new and interesting
svnthesis thcn occiirs; his enaagement
wilh suri-ealisl objecti\es takes place
within contexl of expressive sobriety and
regional content thal characlerised the
group known as die Escuela de Vallecas.
Aiter his exhibilion in the Ateneo in
vW
CtNKOAIlANTlCOOf ASIE MOOfSNO
Madi'id. Juan Ismael uiainlaiiis aii
intense association wilh ihese painters,
aniong wlioni are hicluded iVlarnja
Mallo. José Moreno Villa. Benjamín
Falencia, Antón (Tarcía Jjamolla, etc.
.Iiiaii Ismael s first series ol'
surrealist works was called Pdisajes
Metafísiros [Metaphvsical Landscapes];
soinc ol lítese were included in his
lomth individual exhibition iit
Novemher 1935, held under tlie anspices
of ADLAN in the Centro de Exposicióit e
Información Permanente de la
Constntcción de Madrid, ''The
outstandiiig charactcristic of tliis group
of paintings,' Padorno poims oiit. "does
not reside in anv single sense of the
figurations itor in múltiple meanings.
What is pectiliar is the iiarrative
disjitnctioii. the play of aiialogical
elements " [2]. The arrist focused on this
series uiitil the begintiing of the civil
war. 1936 sees .Tuan Ismael hrimmiiig
with expectations after his exhibition iti
the Centro. Iii February Eduardo
Westerdahl asks him to particípate in
the Exposición de Arte Contemporáneo,
organised by ADLAN and the Gaceta de
Arte and ]3laimed for .lune. In
responding to Westerdahl. .luán Ismael
inentions the presence of his work in
"the exhibition of Spanish painting, in
Paris". an alliision to the exhibition
entilled "L'art Espagnol
Contemporaine" that took place in
Februarv in the Jeu de Paume, The
exhibition included an ''important
participation of surrealist painters" such
as Dalí, Miró, Lamolla. Martija Mallo,
Moreno Villa. González Beriial, etc, [3],
Finallv, the proximitv of the Amigos de
las Artes Nuevas (Guillermo de Torre,
,foan Prat. .I.L. Sert, etc.) led to his
association witli the Logicofobista gi'otip.
which held its first exhibition iii ihe
Galerías de Arte Cataluña in Mav.
But ex];)ectations do iiot necessarílv
yield creative activitv, and given the
course of events in the vear 1936 it can
be assumed that not many pieces were
índeed realísed. We onlv know twf) of
them currently, and a tliird \'\Í\
photographs. In the same vear there are
Juan Ismael. 103.5.
two ime(|uivocal references to paintings
iii the lelter to Westerdahl mentioned
above, where he also annoimced tlu-ee
new paintings that he iie\'er sent to
Tenerife [4], and also by the presence of
tliree works in the Exposición
Logicofobista, of which we know the
titles: Al llegar Clotilde. Llegó cuando yo
lo espendxi v La arpisla iiiiprorisaiiilo.
We lack the tille of oiie of the
three kitow ii paintings, although we
know that this painting belonged to Dr.
Manuel Parejo Moreno [5], a friend of
Juan Ismael and Osear Domínguez and
to whom Domínguez dedicated one of
his earliest paintings, a still-life in the
cubist style dated 1928 [6], Juan
Ismael's painting is oil on wood. 4.5 cm.
bv 32 cm. and signerl only with the
iiiitials (J-ls.). It posseses general
feattires in common lo all three
paintings: a sober paletle, a search for
primitvisl-inspired material qttalities,
textures and forms, and the inclusión of
sense elements in a leveled landscape
that converts them into transcendent
siibstances that string together a storv.
The second painting, which we
onlv know from photographs, is titled
Unida de la tierra according to an
annotation bv the painter. It appears to
llave been exectited aloiig the same lines
of the work described above, although in
a larger formal. Also, the work appears
lo be painted on canvas. Btil in addition
lo the imitv of technique that lítese two
W'Oi'ks share, there is also a reiteration of
idenlifiable elements, some of which
begin to act[uíre greater symbolíc weight
as they are repeated. Thus the
archilectonic elements (the lionsc and
the stairwav), the femenine object
(broken or transi'ormed in both works)
or the imeasv dwarfish forin that seems
to grasp or carrv the liouse below his
arní in lite first |)aint¡ng. while in the
second he stands in bom of the
decapitated woinan.
The third painting is entilled La
arpixta improrisando and was included
w ith the abüve-mentioned works hi the
Exposición l^ogicoíobista. It i'ollows the
same identifying scheme that we have
seen earlier: devastation and identifiable
elements (architeclure. woman, dwarf),
in addition to a closer structural
relationship with the painting Hnida de
la Tierra in the pictorial references, wilh
no substantial differences between the
two territories.
The painting La arpisla
iinprorisínnlo has jnst the right elements
to be disturbing. The apparent
simplicity of the final themes is preceded
by the careful preparatorv work on a
thin sheet of inuslin. The consistencv of
tlic liiial suil'acc Icxliirc Iciiils llii- wor-k
cerlaiii inaicrial (lualilics llial llic arlisi
lakes advanlage of l)y tlcvclopiua ilic
llircc planes of i-oloiii- llial divide llie
desoíale laiídscape. Ahove. a iiiiüonn
lead-i>r-ey sky. harelv seraleli(-(l hv iwo
slylised cloiuls; in a disTanl poiiil oii llie
horizon soiiielliiii2 resplendenl is
iiuplied. bul diis ligiil dijes iiol alTeel llie
figures. The haud oí' skv hiends iiitü liie
rihlioii oí laiid. holli of iheiii
luonocliioiiie. Not eveii (he sliglilesl
eiuphasis is placed oii drawing.
eoiislriKiiiig Ule laiídsrape oiil oí aii
iiii|)eiceplil)le liuild-iip iip sineai's llial
leiiiforce llic sense oí desolalioii and
nnrealilw I lo\\e\-er. lilis is wliere llie
seene oeeiirs lluil we e\cnliiallv nolit'c. A
final, iiearK-hiaek sliip finislies lile
lower pan oí ihe camas. ínncioiiing as
íoregronnd and siippKing ihe necessary
wciglil Olí wliich llie iiiipossible scene is
placed: in iliis glooniy zone llie arli.sl
painls Iwo wliiie Howers.
riiree eleiiieiils are drawii in llie
iiiidille oí lli(> painling. To ihe leít
appcars llie córner of a leiiiplc; aii
amputated arní resls on the tempie's
onlv cohiinn. In llie centre, a mide
woinaii |)lavs the liarp. ller luidily
presents perle|ilual diriciillies. since it is
confiised on an alinost conceptual level
willi ihe inidilv oí (he brushstroke and
ihc paiiiling: in addilion, ihere is a
transparency that reveáis hei- skeleton
and even her terrible conntenance
bchhid the harp. The lliird figiiie,
localed on ilie righl. liiriis toward the
olliers: il is the dwaiiish forin siispiMided
over a cloiid llial lloals ovcr llie land. hi
anv event, il is not a clearly denned
form. It coiild be an eniplv overcoal. a
decapilaled slaliie or an
anllniípoinorphised Iree trnnk. Tlie
íigiire is laising liis riglil arin in aii
anibignoiis «icsiiire: we do not kiiow ií
he is lr\inu' lo reacli the anipnlaled anii
toward wliicli he seeins lo inove or if he
is ¡iisl saluting. .Meaiiw hile, bis leít arin
liangs dow n. ainpulalefl.
riie lliree figures are Treated wilh
a diííereiK I lechihque froni íliat oí llie
rest (lí ihe painling. Al leasl on bolli
.sides ihe caiivas is visible Ijeiieath a ihiii
coat of C'il tlial accenlnales the drawiiig.
wliile the central figure is resobcd
lludiigh dens(> brnshslrokes. \X e iiiight
conchide llial ihe coinpositioual
siriicllire in .liian Ismael s works. praised
l)\ Eugenio D Ors Iwo vears earlier. has
not been abandoned in ibis later
|3aiiiting of an irratioual charactcr. filis
indicates prior conceplion. and ihns a
visión that precedes the e.xeciilion oftlie
work. al leasl in its ftindainental |)arts.
Tbis in tinii snpporls llie lliesis ihaí
¡ji liiiidii di' Id licnii (¡'(tisdjfs iiicl(ifísii-í).s). l'):5o. Oil oii caiivas.
wlial we llave hcrc is nol jusl an
aiitoiiialic work Ijiit ratlicr aii allcgorv. a
liiglil\ -direct sviiibolisation oí tlie
liistorical nioiiicnt in wliicli Juan Ismael
was paintiiig; lliis reveáis logi('opli()l)ic
¡iiteiitioiis. at a time wlieii llie groiip s
iiiíluence is iiievitahle lor aii artist of
siu'li virgin leceptivitv.
Oiie last detall hids iis íarewell
iiom our coiisideratioii oí the jiaiiitiiif;.
The iiiteiisitv of tlie bhíe clond tlial Hits
the dwarf makes it iimeal. [)rovisioiial
aiid gliostiv; it also liiids a stihtle
svmholie coiielative iii the inipereeptihle
aheiatioii of the laiídseape. Throiighoiit
tile hase of the |)aiiit¡iig s iiitermediate
liaiid. Juan Ismael has utiiised a raiige of
biowus, sepias, oclues and tliick
shadows iii oider to achieve au
inhospitable moiiotoiiv. Oiilv beiieath
the stairs of the temple does the
Venetiaii retí seem to withdraw iiito the
lower darkness. towaid the temple and
toward the paiiitiiig s lef't border.
iiivaded by a deathlv palé toiígiie.
hi La íirpista imprurisdiiclo theie
is a coiijugatioii of miich of the ])ietorial
tiaditioii 011 wliieh Juan isniael s work is
fjased at tlie time: the |)ostex|)ressioiiistic
direetives of the "iiew objectivily from
(Termaiiv — knowii here as "inagie
realisin aíter F. Roh s book was
eirculated (Kaiiolt. Mense. Spies. etc.) —
whicli Juan Ismael assimilatecl into
(¡aiiary Island suhjects; a brief (^nbist
phase (Picasso and Gris), wliicli would
lea<l to a group of paiiitings in 1*)34:
and. finally, surrealism. Tliis last
influence reached him through two
sepárate routes — through the (ianary
Islands and the work of Osear
Domínguez and also through the Escuela
de Vallecas — and would influence most
of the work exhibited in the Centro de
Exposición e Información Pennaneiite de
la Construcción in 193."j. In the
Metaphvsical Landsca|)es. the series tliat
ranged throujíli 1').S5 and 19.36. oiie can
see a gradual departure from the
abstract and ])rimitive forms that
jirotagonised niuch of the
contemporaneous experimental painting
(Falencia, Moreno Villa, Eamolla, etc.)
and a inove toward the painting of Cario
(^arrá and De (Jhirico.
F'rom tliis stage forward, we must
be prudent in considering Juan Ismaels
jiainting as exdusivelv surrealist.
altfiough the slvle inight seem
inseparable from all his work. In fact.
during tliis period the development of his
work resembles the painting of Valori
Plastici inore than that of surrealism.
Identitv — leatures. the face, the
liead — disappears in metaphvsical
painting; it becoines objectified. Figures
and objects are petrified. rescued from
primitive and renaissance traditions. The
|)ainter s inanipulation of stnictnres or
the skeleton of representatiou becomes
fluid, direct and intimate. eudowing
forms with the coiiditions of personalilv.
It is tliis non-expressive treatmeiit of the
painting that makes it enigmatic.
[uitting a dislance between itself and the
viewer. The viewer is thus oiilv invited
to see an enigma, or better still, to leel
that he SCÍ'S an enigma, .\1oreover, in
Juan Isinaels case, the introduction of
features beloiiging to traditional S|)anish
painting [7], attenuated by the islaiul
pers|)ective to a degree of iiiiiocence that
¡aises it to the level of poetrv, lends the
work a dimensión free from all
einphasis. niaking it sileiil and interior.
Onlv silence is lieard in the latid
where the harpist |)lays. The unchaining
of events lias occurred, aud although
paiii and surprise have still iiot left the
stage. the final act is sanitised surgerv,
cold and therapeiitic, oti a desoíate.
bleak jilain. It is the inevitable (iriming
of a livid flowering.
The harpist watches iis. Bevoiid
lier. bevoiid her gaze, the liistorv of
evetits fnses into her bones and
disappears. calcilied into the |)ast. Aud
as she watches iis, and as we watch her.
she improvises.
NOTAS
[1] Moreno Villa. J. I ida en rluro. F.íi.K..
Madrid. 1')?().
[2] Padonio. V.. Jmm l.miacl B.A.C. ii" M).
(iohienio de Canarias. 1')').").
[•i] (lareía de Carpí. L. Iji pintiini num'dlixld
i'.i/Hiñola (l92-t-19:i()j. VA. Istmo.
Madrid. l')8().
[H] "...Caceta de Arle is hohliiig an e.xhihilion
in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in whicli.
togelher with paiiitings, diere wili be
pholos. objeols. surrealist hooUs and
niagazines. FoniKis (oil) and AV)
íle.ipriiaié en el ininnio xilio (eneaiislie)
are tlie pieees that are availahle. leni hy
lile painter s (riends so that his naiiie
inight appear logetlier with the iiames of
Max Krnsi. Ángel Ferrant. Joan Miró,
etc. Padorno. V.. Judii Ismael. (]aja fie
Ahorros (le Tenerife. 1<){i2.
[.••)] Manuel Parejo Moreno (1<)()7 - 1980) was
a neiiro-psycliialrie physieian and a
hrilliant ehaiaeter. a liugely talenled iiiaii
and deepl\- edneated not onlv in medicine
hiit also in eiillnral aflairs and llie
hnnianilies. Tliroughoul his lile he
dedicaled special atlenlion to the relalion
between creativity in tlie visual arts and
mental illness. He was a meinher of the
Sociedad Knropea de Psicopatologia de la
Expresión. These inierests. whi<'h withínit a
doiiht were eomplemented hy his yoiitliful
liiendships with Jnan Ismael and Osear
Doniinguez. eventually were expressed tin
Imporiant and pioneering invesligative
works on Cma (Análisis hiopatográfieo de
Dii. Francisco de Coya y Lneientes). Van
(íogli and Antonin Arlaiid.
[6] Castro. V. "Osear Domínguez". Kd.
Cátedra, Madrid. 1978
[7] During his stay in Madrid, Juan Ismael
niade frequent visiis to the Prado, where
he ohtained a Copyisl's Ceiiification. In
the inuseum he discovered and placed
extraordinary valué on the paintings of
Juan lie \ aldés Leal, whoin he placed in
the forefronl of all Spanish painters
thr<iu<!h<)ut liistorv.
157