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01Nov 2020 by kike_K No Comments

My Quixote

Illustration

There is something untouchable in the book El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha or just Don Quixote). All who have carried out further studies on the novel agree on its ineffable essence. This is so typical of all Spanish works: think of Velazquez’ paintings! Harold Bloom, states in his Western Canon that the history of literature could be summarised around the two characters, Don Quixote and Sancho and that just three or four characters by Shakespeare are up to these standards. We have an inventory of our own, that’s why we need to include a few ones such as Ahab and Raskolnikov, Atticus Finch or Antoine Roquentin. For so many people ‘Don Quixote’ is just a funny book, starring a…

The Milkmaid

Painting

We need to focus on the mottled effect in the paintings made by Jan Vermeer (1632-1675), the first painter who tried to reach a ‘photographic’ quality. Vermeer had understood that the eye and its inseparable ‘camera obscura’ do not see the things in the same way so this is no more a plain technical resource, it has become a new way to look. There were a few things he preferred to paint just as they can be seen through that ‘camera obscura’. This is a real Vermeer, with its typical blue-yellow harmony (though the map of the Netherlands and the white porcelain tiny pitcher are missing). The woman is looking downwards to the dark opening of the jar, to the thin splash of dense milk which seems to be suspended…

Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier

Painting

Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891) is a well-known painter devoted to historical subjects; in any case, the exquisite technique of that French painter is present in his genre scenes and his portraits. The Prado Museum in Madrid shows a beautiful portrait ‘La Marquesa de Manzanedo’ (the Marquise of Manzanedo). This painting is exhibited in one of the permanent galleries devoted to paintings dating back the 19th century. We need to mention that Meissonier was born the same year the Waterloo Battle took place, the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. He painted Napoleon and the emperor’s army so many times. In order to depict battle sceneries properly enough, he used to model small soldiers and horses. He enjoyed great prestige and success during his lifetime, but like so many academicist painters as the time…