A flying cape of bronze

As Spain has a history of many kings, it is obvious that there are still many equestrian statues of these kings. 

On the Plaza de Oriente, on the (east) side of the Royal Palace in Madrid, you find  one of the finest: The statue of  king Philip IV of Spain (1605 - 1665). 

He had many children but his son Charles II would be the last in line of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty (from Charles V to Carlos II).

The statue was made by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca based on drawings by Velasquez, who painted many portraits of Philip. Pietro Tacca made the king look rather handsome (compare some portraits by Velasquez).

More important is the way this Pietro Tacca handled the bronze. He makes one think it is easy and gives it a lightness like a piece of soft cloth flying in the wind.

Because the horse is lifting it's front legs very high it is told that the statue has to be balanced by putting more weight on the "bottom parts". Also for these kind of statues the tail is conveniently "touching" the ground. When you look at more equestrian statues, they mostly have 3 legs on the ground. Other options are people that hold the reigns or some (fantasy) construction in the middle.  

 Over his harness Philip IV wears a cape that flies behind him suggesting movement as if it is made from a very light material. This is a masterpiece. The lace seams are looking delicate.

The horse is looking extremely alert: Ready for Battle!

It's manes are long and finely worked.

There is a lot to read about Philip IV of Spain . And off course this is just a small part of the very interesting history of Spain in general. 

The art of Aleijadinho

The impressive Christ from Aleijadinhos (Congonhas, Brazil)

Aleijadinho (Antônio Francisco Lisboa; about 1730 to 1814) lived in Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais (Brazil). He was like his father an architect and sculpturer. Just at the moment when he was starting to develop his own style he was hit by a muscle disease... He couldn't hold his tools with his hands and was forced to tie these to his arms. This might have also have led to his developing a completely personal style of sculpture.
In the works of Aleijadinho there are elements of criticism on the Portuguese regime. It was the time of the French revolution.  In Ouro Preto the Inconfidentes, under the leadership of Tiradentes, organized a coup, that went horribly wrong.

The Church of São Francisco de Assis, that is considered the best architectonic work in Minas Gerais, was built by Aleijadinho. 

São Francisco de Assis - Ouro Preto

Because of the danger of theft it is in most churches in Minas absolutely forbidden to take pictures. So I have to limit myself to the works that I could take pictures of. This is why I am more or less restricted to his masterpieces at the Church Bom Jesus de Matesinhos in Congonhas. Here he also shows his critical spirit, that dressed the Roman soldiers into the boots of the Portuguese. The use of the Pelourinho for the flagellation of Jesus. The Pelourinho was a pillory for the punishment of slaves. In another station Jesus receives the crown of thorns and a sugar cane....

the Church Bom Jesus de Matesinhos of Congonhas

 At the entrance of the Church there are statues of 11 prophets.

The Church Bom Jesus de Matesinhos of Congonhas

Some of the 11 statues of the prophets....

  

  

 In front of the church down a sloping hill are 6 chapels containing scenes from the way of the cross. 

It is a pity to see that these chapels are in great need of maintenance.

The last supper

The last supper

Judas with the money....

Many expressive faces around the table.

Jesus is captured

Jesus attached to a Pillory - the Pillory (Pelourinho) is a flagellation pole that was used by the Portuguese for slaves.
Here we also see the Roman soldiers with Portuguese boots.  

The sugar cane....

Tiger, Tiger…..

Very uneasy…. When you enter the room in the Kröller-Müller Museum with 9 Tigers revolving in extreme agony, you feel at least uneasy. And I still feel very uneasy when I look at these pictures.
The excess of arrows, the rolling, the theatrical scenery makes you identify with these tigers. They are not dead yet and you are part of the process, part of the suffering as the artist says somewhere; “part of an ongoing tragedy”. Where the rabbit in “Watership Down” (Richard Adams) defines being as “Life is here and now”, I would say this installation  makes you feel like “Death is here and now”.
The installation “Inopportune: Stage Two (2004) of the Chinese born New York artist Cai Guo-Qiang depicts his reaction to terrorism, cultural and religious conflicts, violence of war and extinction in relation to heroism (The Tigers – man made - refer to a Chinese story about Wu Song a brave man in the 12^th century who killed a man-eating tiger with his bare hands to save his fellow villagers.)

Trying to understand this / his work I quote his words from an interview:

“My idea of making this work is not to do any criticism or replication but to focus on what it means for sculptors to create realist sculptures in the time the work was created. ...The end goal is not to make perfect sculptures and have them exhibited elsewhere and then have them collected somewhere. The key is to focus on the process of fabrication of these artworks, to pay attention to the process of the artists making these sculptures, rather than where these sculptures will end up and how they will look in the end.”

His large drawing Myth: Shooting the Suns: Project for Extraterrestials No. 21 (1994) Produced by detonating gunpowder (suns) on paper. The continuing search for balance between mankind and the shifting universe.

More information:

Cai Guo-Qiang interview with Ellen Pearlman

Of Terror and Tigers: Reflections on Cai Guo-Qiang’s Inopportune

By Robert Pogue Harrison

Kröller-Müller Museum