Sarraga, Angel

Angel Sarraga. Poetess, 1917

Angel Sarraga was born on August 16, 1886 in the family of the doctor Fernando Sarragi and his wife Guadalupe Arguelles in Victoria de Durango. He became interested in fine art early and about 1903 entered the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City ^[3] .

With the intention of continuing his studies, Sarraga set off on a trip to Europe in 1904. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Science and Arts in Belgium under the supervision of Professor Isidore Verheiden . Later he went to Spain , where he lived for three years in cities such as Avila , Burgos , Madrid , Salamanca , Segovia , Toledo . Sarraga twice participated in collective exhibitions at that time, the first around 1906 - at the Prado Museum among fifty other artists ^[3] , and the second time - in January 1907 at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (ENBA), where he returned only briefly time ^[4] . Later he went to Italy , and in 1909 participated in the Salon on Donatello Square in Florence . At this exhibition, the Museum of Oran acquired one of his early masterpieces - the painting “Naked Dancer”. He participated in the IX International Art Exhibition of the city of Venice , which was held from April 23 to October 30, 1910, attracted the attention of critics with the painting "Martha and Maria" . After a long trip to European cities, Angel Sarraga settled for a long time in Paris in 1911, where he first showed the public his paintings “ Saint Sebastian ” and “Gift”. Both paintings were admired by Parisian critics ^[3] .

At that time, Angel Sarraga returned to Mexico only once (for a short time at the very beginning of World War I). In 1919, he was elected to the jury of the Autumn Salon in Paris. In 1917, he was responsible for the artistic design of the play “Anthony and Cleopatra” by William Shakespeare at the Andre Antoine Theater in Paris. Between 1914 and 1917, Sarraga became interested in cubism (one of the paintings of this period was The Poetess of 1917), but soon returned to a more realistic work. Nevertheless, in 1921, paintings of the Cubist period (mostly already in private collections) were presented at a successful solo exhibition ^[5] .

In 1926, Alberto H. Pani, the Mexican ambassador to France, asked him to decorate the reception of the Mexican embassy in Paris, where Sarraga painted 18 panels. The artworks were presented at an exhibition in New York . In the late 1920s, due to the crisis of the international art market, he lost his patrons and often became depressed. During the Second World War, he returned to Mexico (in 1941), where he created frescoes in the Club of Bankers and in the Cathedral of Monterrey ^[1] . On September 22, 1946, Angel Sarraga died in the city of Cuernavaca from pneumonia ^[5] .

Sarraga worked mainly in the portrait genre, portraying slaughtered peasants, beggars and elderly people (in Spain), artists, art historians, noble women (in France). The artist’s brushes also include thematic sports paintings - mostly portraits of unknown players and rugby players (some of these athletes were later identified). The meticulousness of the artist and his addiction to small details suggest, according to some art historians, possible close relations between the artist and his models ^[5] .

Sarraga wrote poetry, and in his literary work critics see poetic echoes of the experience of being abroad, as well as an author’s commentary on his work as an artist. Among the most famous poems of Sarragi are “Ode to France” and “Three Poems” ^[1] .

The artist had right-wing political views, but lived surrounded by people who sympathized with the left movement . His sensuality and religiosity often turned out to be incompatible with the growth of radical socialist movements ^[6] . Nevertheless, he was a friend of Diego Rivera , the famous Mexican monumental artist, husband of Frida Calo . Their friendship began at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico, where they both studied ^[7] . The stylistic changes in Sarragi's work were generally insignificant. His early works were created within the framework of symbolism and are characterized by critics as a complex combination of spirituality and sensuality. The art critic Rudy Blays finds hidden homosexual motifs in the artist’s work ^[8] .

Painting "Ex voto"

The most famous painting by Angel Sarragi - “Ex voto” (from Latin: “according to a vow”, the painting got its name because of the votive inscription in the lower right corner, 100 x 73 centimeters), dates from the early period ^[6] . The canvas was created in 1911 ^[9] and depicts St. Sebastian in a slightly feminine pose. The intimacy of the picture is reinforced by a female figure who enters the personal space of the saint, in it they see the transgender personification of the artist himself. However, this effect is somewhat neutralized by the inscription in the lower right part of the picture: “Lord! This is my painful and humble work. Accept her, Lord! Angel Sarraga. " ( Spanish: "SEÑOR! Esta es mi obra penosa y humilde. Acéptala. SEÑOR". Angel ZARRAGA ) ^[6] . The painting, according to art critics, is a product of the artist’s religious experience related to childhood, it fills the viewer with an atmosphere of spiritual contemplation, creates a material connection for him that unites the person with the Divine (a blue background symbolizes the heavenly dimension). The artist devotes his work to God and seeks through the image of St. Sebastian “sublime protection” for his artistic inspiration. Art historians suggest that Amedeo Modigliani , with whom the artist was well acquainted, could serve as the prototype of St. Sebastian. The painting was sold at Christie's auction in 2006 in New York at the Rockefeller Center for $ 284,800 ^[9] .

Art historians compare with the female figure depicted in the picture, the artist’s record in his “Message to Durango” for 1942:

“In this bedroom, when night fell, my mother, whose name Guadalupe, as our Virgin, took my children's hands in hers, and, kneeling down, she taught me these prayers ...”

- Angel Sarraga. Communication in Durango ^[9]

The figure of St. Sebastian is inspired by the sculpture "The Dying Slave" by Michelangelo , shows the subtlety of modeling and good knowledge of the anatomy by the artist. The body is as if fashioned, depicted with the virtuoso use of matter and color, as if it were carved in polished marble. The saint weakens from pain and joy in the serene delight of a future meeting with the Divine, creating at the same time an excuse for the artist to emphasize the beauty of the naked body ^[9] .

Sarraga was very fond of this picture, perceived St. Sebastian as his symbolic, metaphysical and esoteric self-portrait. He even made in 1912 a monumental version of this picture, 184 by 134 centimeters. This version of the canvas was bought by his friend Isidro Fabela , who considered painting a pearl of his collection. The large-format Ex voto version was exhibited at the Autumn Salon in Paris in 1912. On this version of the canvas in the lower right corner is another text composed by the artist: “Lord, I cannot honor you in intricate verses. But, Lord, accept this simple and modest work that I have done with my mortal hands! Angel Sarraga " ^[6] . In 1982, the Mexican National Institute of Fine Arts acquired the canvas, and it is still in its exposition ^[9] .

According to art critics, Angel Zerraga was able to portray in this work a longing of spirit, pain and sadness with the help of subtle symbols. The display of both painful and pleasant feelings in an intimate ritual becomes erotic in nature. In his review, published in Paris, and then in Mexico, the poet and art historian Juan Jose Tablada noted the artist in the same way as Ruben Dario : both of them wrote admiringly about a newcomer to the famous avant-garde salon. But Tablada strongly objected to the comments of another art critic Brendel, who pointed to a mixture of sensuality and the mystical touch of sin, which allude to some kind of hidden motivation of the artist ^[9]

A double meaning can be found in the film “Adoration of the Magi” (1911). The picture depicts a newborn baby Jesus and three magi in a geometric grid of lines. One magus stands in the middle and raises his hands, as if preparing for a common prayer. The other is on his knees, in a pose that makes him think he is about to dive into the water. Both sorcerers are almost naked, they have nothing but luxurious loincloths and Egyptian hats. The bodies of the Magi look athletic and sensual. The artist, according to art historian Rudy Blays, “leads a dialogue” between a sense of religiosity on the one hand and erotic charm on the other ^[6] .

Portraits of Soccer Players

Sarrag's painting went through a short period of cubist experiments. His human figures in the late period look like almost motionless sculptures and radiate a certain spirituality. This is the case even in many portraits of athletes, especially football players ^[10] . According to Rudy Blays, thematic choices can be important in and of themselves. The artist could have a homosexual weakness for athletes. Sensuality is noticeable in his portrait of the actor Ramon Novarro (1925, the artist was the cousin of this famous Mexican actor, who achieved considerable success in Hollywood ^[7] ) and in the film “Three Football Players with a Beret” (214.3 by 124.5 centimeters, 1921, was exhibited to Sotheby's for 600-800 thousand dollars ^[11] ). The position of each of the three players in the picture is such that a certain proximity between all three becomes inevitable. One holds a wooden pillar with his left hand down, he put his right hand on the shoulder of a man standing in the middle. The youngest (on the left) holds the ball together with one standing in the center, right in front of his genitals. The central character holds his hand on the thigh of a teammate. The right character looks at the central, he, in turn, looks away. The one on the left looks past the artist / viewer. A carefully thought-out composition suggests intimacy, possibly used to convey latent homosexuality ^[12] .

Sarraga entered the history of painting as the first artist to portray female football in the 1922 Football Players painting. On this canvas is depicted with two friends Jeanette Ivanoff. The model was born in Poland, her real name is Jeanne Mut, she treated Sarraga during her illness at the beginning of the First World War, the artist painted numerous portraits of this beautiful and elegant woman ^[13] , she became his wife. Ivanoff professionally played football in the club “Sportives de Paris” . A triple portrait was created on the occasion of the victory of the team over the Sportives de Reims club in the final of the national championship in Paris with a score of 3: 0. In 1926-1927, he created numerous portraits of football players ^[14] .

Three girls in the picture “Football Players” stand in the foreground in black shorts and orange t-shirts, at their feet is a soccer ball; behind them is a white fence, behind which other football players train in the presence of a small number of spectators. In the background are houses and smoking chimneys of the plant. The artist used the iconography of the Three Graces (in ancient mythology of the goddesses who gave people happiness and joy of life). Sarraga gave a modern interpretation of this theme, used for centuries by various artists - Raphael , Rubens , Antonio Canova . The picture showed a woman of a new type: strong, athletic, confident and modern (this is demonstrated, for example, by a watch on the wrist of one of the football players) ^[14] .

In 2014, the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City hosted the Sarraga and Football exhibition, which was widely covered in the press ^[15] .

• Football in European painting

• Ángel Zárraga y Argüelles (Spanish) . Biografías y Vidas. Date of treatment July 2, 2017.
• Bleys, Rudi. Images of Ambiente: Homotextuality and Latin American Art, 1810-today . - A&C Black, 2000 .-- S. 41-43. - 244 p. - ISBN 9-780-8264-4723-4.
• Comino, Danilo. Calcio e donne: i ritratti di calciatrici di Zàrraga (Spanish) . Arte & Football. Date of treatment July 2, 2017.
• Carmona, Eugenio; Garay, Claudia; Garduño, Ana; Greet, Michele; Ramírez, Fausto; Velázquez, Mireida. Ángel Zárraga // Ángel Zárraga. El sentido de la creación. - México: Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, 2014 .-- 287 p. - ISBN 978-607-605-278-5 .
• El Amor Es Redondo: Cultura Futbolistica - Ángel Zàrraga (Italian) . El Amor Es Redondo. Date of treatment July 2, 2017. (unavailable link)
• Novelo, María Luisa. Angel Zarraga (Mexican 1886-1946). Ex-voto, Martirio de San Sebastián (English) . Christie's. Date of treatment July 2, 2017.
• Oca, Andrea. Pintando el fútbol (Spanish) . Compos TIMES (11 Novembro, 2014). Date of treatment July 2, 2017.
• Prampolini, Ida Rodríguez; Sabau García, María Luisa; Sáenz González, María Olga. Ángel Zárraga // México en el mundo de las colecciónes de arte: México contemporáneo. - UCOL, 1994. - T. 6. - S. 28-35. - 287 p. - ISBN 9-789-6869-6342-7.
• Sánchez Arreola, Flora Elena. Zngel Zárraga // Catálogo del archivo de la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, 1857-1920. - Mexico: UNAM, 1996 .-- 387 p. - ISBN 9-789-6836-3699-7.

• The artworks on Univercidad de las Artes (Spanish) . Date of treatment July 2, 2017.