Spanish Nativity

Figuras de Cacharrería

Something not often discussed by belenistas are the figuras de cacharrería, the simple, roughly made little figures that for years were a staple of Christmas markets.  Cacharrería means pottery, and refers to the inexpensive daily use kitchen items, such as small drinking jugs or cups, made of low-fired clay and usually sold at markets.  Nativity figures were made of the same material, and often by the same people. They are usually not signed, although certain artisans in Murcia are particularly known for their figuras de cacharrería. Serious belenistas would certainly not scatter them into a scene containing figures, say, by Mayo or some other creator of artistic terra-cotta Nativity figures in the “estilo hebreo,”  but they have a lot of charm.    In this photo, we see a collection maintained by Sereno, a poster on the wonderful Foro de Belenismo.

I particularly like the little scenes, such as this Sueño de José (Joseph’s Dream), where the angel who tells Joseph to take the Child and His Mother and go into Egypt is shown dangling above Joseph, who is sleeping with his head on a bundle of his possessions and his hat lying beside him.  I bought this at a stall in the 2008 Feria de Navidad in Madrid.

 

Cristóbal Jiménez in Alcalá de Henares

Our great friend Cristóbal Jiménez , who is responsible for the wonderful program, Camino de Belén, just sent me these photos of his belén at home...

 

 

 

...and the belen in the hospital where he works....

Enjoy!

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La Vida Adulta de Jesús; The Adult Life of Jesus

Spanish Nativity artists focus on the Nativity, naturally, but many of them also turn their attention to other aspects of the life of Christ.  Some of these are what scholars refer to as the “hidden life,” that is, things of which we have no account in the Gospels but can only imagine, while others are accounts of miracles or deeds that are found in the Gospels.

A poster on the wonderful Foro de Belenismo was working on a project creating dioramas on the life of Jesus after the Infancy – in other words, as an adult. The poster asked for help, and a belenista from Zaragoza, a woman whose screen name is Suny, posted some wonderful photos she had taken of dioramas by an artist named Antoni Sans in Tarragona.  Then, to top it off, she posted another set of photos she had taken of the permanent exhibit of dioramas at the Monastery of Pedralbes in Barcelona. I have seen these and they are great.  Thanks to Suny for her great photos!

In this photo, we see Antoni Sans’ version of the Wedding at Cana, with the wine jugs set out awaiting the miracle.

In the next photo, we see Mary and the Disciples in the Upper Room, with the dove descending, from the diorama at Pedralbes.

Bear in mind that these figures are quite tiny, usually no more than 12 cm and often less.  Look at the detail and artistic composition of these scenes. Perhaps some of our belenistas on the American continent will think about creating something like this.  I’m including  a few more of Suny’s photos in the album below.

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La Roldana at the Getty Museum

All belenistas are familiar with the name of Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana, the 17th/18th century court sculptor. The daughter of the Sevilla sculptor Pedro Roldán, she was born in 1652. She married a young apprentice from her father’s workshop, Luis Antonio de los Arcos, and eventually moved to Madrid.  She was appointed a court sculptor by Carlos II in 1661, and continued in the position under Felipe V, dying in 1706. While the position gave her honor, it was not very lucrative, and just before her death she was forced to make a “declaración de pobreza,” basically a declaration of bankruptcy.  She created many large wooden figures, but belenistas are probably most familiar with her charming painted terracotta figures of the Holy Family, the Infancy of Christ and related subjects.  This photo, taken from a website on a 2007 exhibition of her work in Spain, shows the Child Jesus and St. John the Baptist as a child, playing and surrounded by cherubim.

Now her work is the subject of an exhibition at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Entitled La Roldana’s San Ginés: The Making of a Polychrome Sculpture, it examines one of her large works, a statue of San Gines de la Jara, probably created while she was court sculptor. Particularly interesting are the explanations of certain techniques common in Baroque Spanish sculpture:  estofado, which was the paint and scratch technique used to create the elaborate gold patterns on garments, and the encarnaciones, the painting of flesh-colored parts of the statue, such as the hands or face.

I hope to visit the exhibition on a trip to California later this year, but in the meantime, I found that the Getty’s web pages were almost as good as a visit.  They provide detailed information on the exhibition and the technical subjects under discussion. Don’t miss the excellent video that is on the exhibition website…if one picture is worth a thousand words, I can’t imagine how many words one well-made video is worth!

Lighting the New Fire in Charleston, SC

I was in Charleston, SC for Easter and went to the Easter Vigil service at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in downtown Charleston. This photo shows Charleston’s new bishop, Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone (formerly of Rockville Centre, LI, New York) lighting the New Fire on the steps of the Cathedral. It’s a little blurry because I had arrived late and was trying to sneak a photo without calling attention to my late arrival!  Happy Easter!

 

Passion Tide

Belén means Bethlehem and, naturally, refers to the Nativity. But the Nativity was just the beginning, and many belenistas follow Our Lord throughout his entire life and throughout the Passion.  There are Spanish Passion dioramas and scenes that would make anyone weep. They are beautiful and powerful.

Unfortunately, I haven’t taken many photos of them over the years. But here are a couple of photographs that I took of dioramas at the Museo de la Ciudad in Madrid in the year 2006. The figures are from the workshop of Juan Antonio Griñán, and the Murcia belenista association created the scenes.  This scene shows Jesus and the disciples on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

 

In Spanish, this scene is called the Prendimiento, the Taking or Capture in the Garden, when Jesus is betrayed by Judas and seized by the soldiers before being taken to the high priests and Pilate and beginning his Passion.