Sebastián de Morra (1646)

J

Just like Sebastián de Morra, Juan Calabazas, also known as Calabacillas or “El bobo de Coria” served to the Cardinal infant until 1632 before serving as the personal jester of the Queen.[1] He is only registered in the documents of Palace from 1630 to1639. Other sources suggest that he was taken to Palace by de Duke of Alba, then the Marquis of Coria in Extremadura, hence the nickname, the fool of Coria. Being a very young kid, Her true name is disputed and appears in the documents either as Juan Martín Martín[2] or as Juan de Cárdenas . He was very protected by Baltasar Carlos and had an status of privilege, giving orders to other jesters. Velázquez did two separate portraits of him, the firt one in 1628 under the title The jester Calabacillas with a windmill. Like the portrait of Don Juan de Austria, Velázquez places the figure in an architectural setting, standing in what seems to be the Galleries of the Alcazar of Madrid[3] and displays an early attempt of the mastery of perspective achieved in the portrait of Pablo de Valladolid. It’s often considered one of Velázquez most moving portraits, since the fearful expression of the jester gives ground to theories those like Leslie Fiedler’s that insist that disabled people either inspire pity or fear. The ingrained apprehension that this portrait inspires in some viewers would stem from “unconscious impulses, otherwise confessed only in our dreams but which once raised to the level of full consciousness serve as a grid of perception wth we screen the socalled reality”[4]. In a similar

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

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[1] Op. Cit p.85.

[2] Lafuente Ferrari, Op.cit. p.220

[3] Francis, Henry S. 1965 “Portrait of the jester Calabazas” Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art,Vol .52, n 9.p.118

[4] Fiedler, Leslie. 1996. Tyranny of the normal : Essays on bioethics, theology & myth Boston : D.R. Godine 1996.P.34

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Francisco Lezcano “El niño de Vallecas” 1640

Francisco Lezcano served as a buffoon for the infant Baltasar Carlos from 1634 to 1649, what has given form to both speculations about his identity as well as his disability. It has been mentioned that Moreno Villa assumes that Francisco lezcano is the dwarf that accompanies Baltasar Carlos in the portrait at the Boston Museum of Arts, but it seems that the script found in this picture in 1800 excludes this possibility. Either registered as Francisco lezcano, Lezcanillo, “The boy from Vallecas” or “The dwarf from Biscay” as fostered some controversy about the nature of his disability. Those as Justi and heake, who assumed that he was originally from Vallecas , purport the theses that he suffered from cretinism, since the Guadarrama Mountain range fits the conditions of a place devoid of iodine. Others opt for a case of pseudoachondroplasia or pituitary. dwarfism. More recent works point the case as hydrocephalic. Both the nickname “El enano vizcaíno” and the lastname Lezcano, a basque toponym, places his most likely origin in North Spain, but there is no conclusive evidence. He began to serve infant Baltasar Carlos when the prince was five years old, which excludes the possibility of being the one that appears in the Portarit of 1632, as Moreno Villa suggests. Short before she died, the Queen Isabel of France got into caprice of the dwarf of his nephew, the Cardinal infant of Flanders during one of her trips in 1643, and took him as an “ayuda de cámara” for his son the prince Baltasar Carlos, then aged 14. He is assigned the same wage that he had under the Cardinal and he is assigned a butler as a favour. He must have been very loved by the infant because in September while in his deathbed he made explicit that his sword and a carved knife should be given to Sebastián[1]. He survived three year the infant and died in palace in 1649. This is one of the portraits in which the dignified attitude of the jesters is more evident, since the subject is staring back at the observer, even though is true that his sat position might recall the one of a muppet, as has been observed[2]

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

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[1] Moreno Villa, Op.cit.p.120

[2] Prater, Andreas, and Hermann Bauer. 1997. Painting of the Baroque. Epochs & styles. Köln: Taschen. P,103


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“Juan de Austria” 1632

Velázquez left unfinished this portrait to undertake the portrait of“Don juan de Austria”, paired with it. Aside of having served in the court of Felipe IV from 1624 to 1654 and that his involvement with the Royal was occasional as a comedy actor little is known of this jesters. Unlike other buffoons he did not receive salary or a regime of meals . It has been speculated that the name “Juan de Austria” under he was always registered was in fact the actual one and not a nickname, since it was a tradition of both Austrians and Borbons to name their adopted children after people of their family . Given that he was a comedy actor and that the portrait was performed right away, if not at the same time, that the one of Barbarroja, is probably a nickname .

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

This obra by Representations of Disability in Spanish Baroque Portraiture:Velazquez´s jesters is licensed under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento 3.0 Estados Unidos License.
Based on a work at caperucitacoja.blogspot.com.

Diego de Acedo “El primo” 1632-1635

So called “El primo” –The cousin – Diego de Acedo worked as a courier and custodian of the Royal seal for 1635 to 1660, hence the book that he is holding along with the inkpot and the pen at his feet . Little is known about the origin of the Alias, since his second surname was Velázquez it has been speculated that could be a kin of the painter or of another knight of the court called Juan de acedo y Velázquez , but it’s likely that the suggested kinship was a joke. Looking at the picture, the theory purported by Peñalver sounds more grounded. According to this author “Primo” was the term used by the king to refer “the grandeess who had the privilege to appear in front of the King without taking off their hat, that according to this author, would also be burlesque, since at the time it was unthinkable that a dwarf was granted such privilege. The fact that the second book of el Quijote has got a character -Don Diego de Miranda nicknamed, “El caballero de la verde espada y del verde Gabán” alluding the attire jesters used to wear reinforces this thesis- . It’s for certain that he received in his face a shot intended for Diego de Guzmán el Conde Duque de Olivares and that had a well earned reputation as a philanderer, since chronicles at the time documented he had an affair with Marcos de la Encinilla Aposentador of King’s palace’s wife . De la Encinilla tried to kill Diego de Acedo one morning in 1643 he went for a walk with the king, and having failed, killed his wife instead.

Velázquez performed this portrait in 1635 and not in 1644 as it been suggested. His grave glance along with the fact that his short legs are merged into the background are consistent with the dignified appearance of all Velázquez jesters.

This obra by Representations of Disability in Spanish Baroque Portraiture:Velazquez´s jesters is licensed under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento 3.0 Estados Unidos License.
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Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

Pablo de Valladolid, 1632-1635

Also from this period his portrait of the court Jester Pablo de Valladolid, referred as a “pantaloon” by Justi and Heake (442). According Moreno Villa he served in the court of Philip IV from 1632 to 1648 and was an acclaimed “repentista” improvisation actor, and appears in this demeanor dressed in black court dressed. Even though Justi regards him just as a comedian, Moreno Villa categorizes him as “loco” fool. It´s not clear from the bibliography consulted to which of these categories he belonged to. Looking as a parody of the classic knight he appears with the Hand on his chest a classic gesture of nobility as seen in the painting of el Greco, and has got short beard of low nobility (hijos dalgo). This portrait is regarded the finest work of the whole buffon series for

the technical achievement of producing the perspective with such a sobriety of means, , just projecting the shadow of the character in a neutral background devoid of any spatial references, and has been interpreted as another negation of the Cartesian perspectival system just as it has been done in Calabacillas. Moreover, the “highly detailed and individualized form of the jester” can be read as a substantiation of the lower social levels.Manet in the 19th century referred of this work as the most incredible piece of painting ever painted, and took it as an inspiration for his “The fifer” (1866) in the D’orsay museum in Paris.

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©


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Velazquez's first trip to Italy

According to Velázquez scholars, such as Brown (1981) and Peñalver (2005), Velázquez first trip to Italy from 1629 to 1631 was of paramount importance in his development as a painter. t The solid training in draftsmanship acquired between 1611-1616 under Pacheco’s mentorship benefited from the months of perfectioning the brush techniques in the school of Sant Rocco in Rome, and the ability of Titian with expressions, that his father in law dismissed.

From this period belong the portraits of Pablo de Valladolid and Diego Acedo "El Primo"

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©


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Disability in Baroque Portraiture V: Baltasar Carlos with his Dwarf.

Both the Boston Museum of Arts at his website and Justi and Heake suggest that this portrait may “may commemorate the swearing of allegiance by the nobles of Castile to the two-year-old heir to the throne.” They also note the contrast in the static pose of the prince, as an still photo in the background, and the dynamic appearance of the unknown dwarf.

The fact that is wearing rich dresses is attenuated by the domestic appearance of the object he is carrying in his hands (an apple and a toy regarded either as a bell or as a rattle), that contrast with the scepter and the flare of the prince. Prince and dwarf, side by side, the former dressed with all the external attributes of power, symbolized by the scepter and an orb, finds its grotesque reply in the rattle and the apple. The fact that the scepter becomes a toy and the world an edible object suggest that wordly power represented in the court is nothing but a game that shouldn’t be taken seriously. The bodies of the two infants are an allegory of the social body of sixteenth century Spain, in which the infant takes the place of the privileged and the dwarf that one of the plain people, in a pure Bakthinian fashion The parody of the social system of the Ancient Regimeis also reinforced by the dynamism and livelyness of the dwarf contrasting the hieratic demeanor of the prince, that poses in the bottom as if he were the background against the humble-bumble life of the Spanish people took place .

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©


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DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE IV:VELAZQUEZ'S JESTERS

Just arrived to Madrid from Rome, Diego da Silva y Velázquez was commissioned the portrait of the heir to Spanish throne, Prince Baltasar Carlos. The eldest son of Philip IV, then sixteen months old, poses in military attire with an scepter and a red band. By his side a dwarf toddler with acondroplasia whose identity is disputed (Moreno Villa, Brown, holding an apple in his left hand and one bell in his right hand. It would be both the first portrait done to the heir of the Spanish Crown as well as the first portrait of his series of court jesters. Performed right after his first trip to Italy the Portrait of Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf is said to display traits of maturity of Velazquez, such as the mastery with the brush obvious in the hair before.

While Moreno Villa in his Locos, enanos, negros y niños palaciegos; Gente de placer que tuvieron los Austrias en la corte española desde 1563 a 1700 takes for granted that he is no other but Francisco Lezcano also known as “El nino de Vallecas” (Moreno Villa, 108), but Jonathan Brown (1986) casts out this possibility based on the journal of the Count Duke of Olivares, at the time Prime Minister of Philip the IV, and exerted direct supervision on his court painter.

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©


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DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE III:VELAZQUEZ'S JESTERS

The portrait of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia” is a valid start point to illustrate the ways how Velázquez defies the conventions of the portraits of the dwarfs. Velazquez impugnations are related to the stamental regime and, according Analisa Leppanen, scopic tradition of classicism. It has been suggested by Sveltana Alpers in Interpretation without Representation Velazquez defies classical representation patterns characterized incorporating the subject viewer perspective, as he does in Las Meninas through the Mirror. The lack of`a subject viewer as the main feature of classical representation had already been addressed by Foucault in the first chapter of the Order of things.In this paper we shall propose that Velazquez does engage the viewer in particular ways when it comes to the jester series . We will now perform a chronological tour on Velazquez portrait of jesters to show he overrides the characteristical absence of the viewer in classical scopic regime displaying the subjects in particular ways that incorporate the viewer in the scene.

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE: VELAZQUEZ´S JESTERS II

For the sake of contrast we will start taking one portrait by Sanchez-Coello La Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia” to illustrate the ways how Velázquez defies the conventions of the portraits of the dwarfs before Just .Sanchez-Coello, court painter of Philip II, portrayed the dwarf Magdalena Ruiz at the side of the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia. The condescending gesture of the infant with her hand on Magdalena Ruiz’s wimple downtones her presence as a character in the Royal Court. Also her attire of Dominican noun and the pious attitude should not mislead about the nature of her functions in the court, where she served as a “guardadamas” of the daughters of the King from 1568 to 1615. The correspondence between the King and his daughters reveal that Magdalena Ruiz was honest to a fault and beloved by the infants, but also quarrelsome, fond on bullfighting, dancing and wine . But probably the most favoured jester of the whole dynasty was Miguel Soplillo, who served in the court for 44 years since 1615-1659. Brought from Flandes by Isabella Clara Eugenia to assist as “ayda de Camara” to his husband Philip III in his last seven years of life, he soon became Philip IV’s favourite jester, appearing with him in a royal portrait by Rodrigo de Villalandro in 1620

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE: VELAZQUEZ´S JESTERS

DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE: VELAZQUEZ´S JESTERS

Already known in Antiquity, buffoons and jesters were part of the Banquets and courts during the Middle Age.. A source of entertainment, they were also called “men of amusement” they were also called for in banquets and in whichever occasion a loosening of the strictures of court life was needed. Supposed to have a” little conscience and no shame they often managed to make[i] a handsome profit out of their supposed irresponsibility”[ii]. Buffoons and jester appear profusely in the Royal court chronicles from the 11th to the 13th century, but they did not reach the spotlight of court life until the 15th -16th century, in the historical twilight amidst the end of middle Ages and the brim of modernity. Virtually every European country had famous Jesters as Klaus Narr in Germany or XXX YY in England, but perhaps in no other place their place like in the Spanish Court of the Habsburgs. According José Moreno Villa “The Austrians had one dwarf per year of Dynasty reign”[iii] Being main empire of its time, Spanish court of the Austrians had plenty of buffoons[iv], as the royal correspondence revealed. However, from all the kings of his dynasty Philip Iv was the most fond on them. Philip the IV, at once “moody and frivolous”[v] was one of these men, “ of whom Erasmus tells us in his Praise of Folly that without their fools they can neither eat nor drink nor while away a single hour These fools are inseparable from him appearing in the theatre at festivities and public audiences by his side and having free access everywhere” [vi].

Philip IV was not only fond of buffoonery, but also a dedicated protector of the arts, who had the good fortune of getting his prime minister recruit for him one of the most talented court painters ever, Diego da Silva Velázquez, that make the most of his friendship and patronage.

The series of Court jesters comprises a whole set of eight portraits executed in little more than a decade starting from his first visit to Italy, from 1629 to 1630 to 1645, in a period that has been called as the middle period, being the first one the portrait of Juan Calabazas with a windmill . Is the purpose of this paper to analyze how Velazquez’s representational skills evolve from conventions of Royal portraiture all embedded in the realist style school of Sevilla, whose major representants were his masters Francisco Pacheco and Pantoja to an style of his own, in line with the conventions of the baroque art. In this article we will use Velazquez series of jesters to probe how the way he portrayed the jesters evolved from being just an adorn of a Royal portrait, as in The portrait of Baltasar Carlos with a dwarf, to a complete impugnation of the social order of the Ancient Regime in “Las Meninas” as it was explored by Foucault in the first chapter of The order of Things.

Melania Moscoso, 2009 ©

[i]

[ii] Welsford, The Fool; His Social and Literary History., p.3

[iii]

[iv] Moreno Villa, J Locos, enanos, negros y niños palaciegos; Gente de placer que tuvieron los Austrias en la corte española desde 1563 a 1700. Editorial Presencia, Mexico.p.37

[v] Justi, Carl. 2006. Velázquez and his times. New York: Parkstone International. p.436

[vi] Ibid.

This obra by Representations of Disability in Spanish Baroque Portraiture:Velazquez´s jesters is licensed under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento 3.0 Estados Unidos License.
Based on a work at caperucitacoja.blogspot.com.

DISABILITY IN BAROQUE PORTRAITURE:VELAZQUEZ´S JESTERS

Already known in Antiquity, buffoons and jesters were part of the Banquets and courts during the Middle Age.. A source of entertainment, they were also called “men of amusement” they were also called for in banquets and in whichever occasion a loosening of the strictures of court life was needed. Supposed to have a "little conscience and no shame they often managed to make[i] a handsome profit out of their supposed irresponsibility"”. Buffoons and jester appear profusely in the Royal court chronicles from the 11^th to the 13^th century, but they did not reach the spotlight of court life until the 15^th -16^th century, in the historical twilight amidst the end of middle Ages and the brim of modernity. Virtually every European country had famous Jesters as Klaus Narr in Germany or George Buchanan in England, but perhaps in no other place their place like in the Spanish Court of the Habsburgs. According José Moreno Villa

“The Austrians had one dwarf per year of Dynasty reign”

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[i]Welsford, The Fool; His Social and Literary History., p.3

Moreno Villa, J Locos, enanos, negros y niños palaciegos; Gente de placer que tuvieron los Austrias en la corte española desde 1563 a 1700. Editorial Presencia, Mexico.p.37


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Melania Moscoso

Más fotos

Aquí estamos Carol y yo después de la conferencia de la Society of Disability Studies, recién llegadas a la estación de Filadelfia. Tenía más sueño que otro poco porque en el baile quité la sed con Coca Cola y me pasé la noche "spinning like crazy" que dicen por aquí.

Fotos

Hola a tod@s,

Ante la demostrada incapacidad que tiene servidora de sacar una foto decente un colega que ha tenido la amabilidad de cederme unas cuantas fotos de su cuenta de Flickr. Si teneis un rato podeis pasaros por su cuenta de Edu=Tourist

Disability in Spanish Film

Acción mutante Álex de la Iglesia, 1993
As I promised here you are another example of the crip theme in Spanish films, now to introduce a film by Álex de la Iglesia, who shares with me two privileges, being born in Bilbao and having attended the classes of professor Andrés Ortiz-Osés at the Deusto University in Bilbao.

Bilbao, 2012. World has surrendered to the imperium of bratz kids, poshy girls and beauty adoration. Just “Acción mutante” a bunch of disabled terrorists leaded by Ramón Yarritu strike against the system. Determined to make the greatest hit of their criminal career, they kidnap the sheltered daughter of dietetic emporium owner Mr. Orujo at her wedding. When they are about to retrieve the ramsom everything goes awry............

El cine Español y la discapacidad (II)

Acción mutante Álex de la Iglesia, 1993

Como lo prometido es deuda sigo con mi repaso de la temática tullida en el cine español, esta vez para presentar una película de mi querido paisano Álex de la Iglesia, que además de haber sido, como yo, alumno del profesor Andrés Ortiz-Osés

está rodada en Bilbao

El Bocho, año 2012. El mundo está dominado por pijos y niños bonitos. Sólo "Acción mutante" lucha contra el sistema: un grupo de tullidos dispuestos a acabar con la sociedad que les ha marginado. Deciden dar el gran golpe. Ramón Yarritu, el líder, vuelve de la cárcel con un magnífico plan: secuestrar a Patricia, hija del señor Orujo, industrial, millonario y famoso por sus panecillos integrales. Eligen para ello el día de su boda. Tras algunos problemas y unos cuantos muertos la operación es un éxito. El punto señalado para la entrega del rescate será el bar "La mina perdida", en el planeta Axturias, remoto paraje habitado tan solo por mineros.Todo parece sonreír a los miembros de Acción mutante, pero en el trayecto, a bordo de su nave especial, surge la tragedia.

El cine español y la Discapacidad

Como parece que a todos nos gusta mucho el cine aprovecho la ocasión para dar a conocer una auténtica joya del cine español que trata el tema de la discapacidad. Se trata de "El cochecito" película dirigida en 1960 por el italiano Marco Ferreri y con guión del recientemente fallecido Rafael Azcona. En ella se narran las aventuras del pícaro Don Anselmo, magistralmente interpretado por Pepe Isbert. Don Anselmo es un jublilado que acaba de trasladarse a Navalcarnero para vivir con la familia de su hijo (interpretado por José Luis López Vázquez) y su familia. Allí se reencuentra con su buen amigo Lucas, mutilado, que junto a sus otros amigos paralíticos disfruta de una trepidante vida social a bordo de su silla motorizada. Don Anselmo Don Anselmo no reparará en argucias para convencer a su familia de que le compre el ansiado cochecito de minusválido para ir con sus amigos de excursión (plot in English). Enlace en YouTube

Renqueando con alegria

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