Jose María El Tempranillo, Legendary Spanish Brigand of the 19th Century 1834

Curator: Oh, look, it's got this air of distant swagger about it, like a forgotten folk song. Editor: Indeed! We're looking at "Jose María El Tempranillo, Legendary Spanish Brigand of the 19th Century," created in 1834 by John Frederick Lewis. It’s a portrait drawing, rendered with ink and pencil. It really does strike me with the air of a traveling troubadour and the weight of historical narrative. Curator: Brigand, eh? I imagine him a romantic outlaw, stealing from the rich... or at least looking terribly dashing while doing it! I find this drawing particularly dreamy in its execution— the way the light kind of catches his hat. Is this surrealism? It definitely looks like there's an exaggeration or something unusual happening. Editor: While Surrealism would blossom later, here Romanticism breathes heavily; notice the deliberate focus on exotic themes. What is also happening in Romantic art in Europe is an intense interest in national identity—a concern with "Spanishness" explains his attention to local heroes, however dubiously portrayed. El Tempranillo, portrayed, here becomes a symbol of defiance. Curator: A symbol, certainly, though symbols shift like sands. Tell me more. Is it hagiography, is it propaganda? Editor: Good question! I would lean towards cultural preservation. After the Napoleonic wars, Spanish identity was very fragmented, and art took the charge to unify the region and rally the flag, in some respects. In these idealized visions, El Tempranillo turns a history painting onto a popular subject and an outlaw turned figure of cultural cohesion! Curator: Amazing that an image so… composed could be about cohesion after something so fracturing. And there he is, mounted so regally... He truly appears like a man carved from legend himself. Though if legends were rendered in a rather soft pencil, I suppose! It gives a different sense to other artworks with horses as the horse almost looks like a furry beast instead of something strong to be used as part of its transport. Editor: Yes, in an age swept by revolutions, Romanticism made for a potent blend— nostalgia, hope, and defiance, all swirling in this piece about one man and a moment captured on paper. A legend reborn on horseback in delicate strokes. Curator: That it is; a gentle defiance, etched into history. A story more felt than spoken.