doi.org/10.15178/va.2020.150.1-24
RESEARCH
FROM THE CHRONICLE TO JOURNALISM, SOURCES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED HOLY WEEK
DE LA CRÓNICA AL PERIODISMO, FUENTES PARA EL CONSTRUCTO DE LA SEMANA SANTA ILUSTRADA
DA CRÔNICA AO JORNALISMO, FONTES PARA A CONSTRUÇÃO DA SEMANA SANTA ILUSTRADA
Rubén Sánchez-Guzmán. Graduated in Art History from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He currently works as a professor of Art History and Getting to Know Madrid, at the Cultural Centers of the Madrid City Council1
Antonio-Rafael Fernández-Paradas2
1Madrid City Hall, Latin District. Spain
2University of Granada. Spain. Spain
ABSTRACT
In the present study we intend to offer a general understanding about the Holy Week (Easter) in Valladolid and its famous processional ensembles with different sources. We are not offering a simple historic view on this celebration in the 18th century, but showing what the people in those days thought about the celebration (and its cultural, artistic and anthropological importance) as is reflected in their writing. The Holy Week in Valladolid was an important theme in historiography on a national level, hence we gather here both local and national sources from a time in which people went from a late Baroque mentality to a fully Enlightened (Age of Enlightenment) one. This change was sometimes traumatic, and these conflicting thoughts can be appreciated in the different ways of narrating, from pre-scientific history to journalistic chronicle. Specifically, three sources of information have been analyzed and compared to the time, one of them the first newspaper published in Valladolid. The sources used are the following: the Diario de Valladolid was written by Ventura Pérez between 1720 and 1784; the Secular and Ecclesiastical History of the very Ancient, Augusta, Coronada, very Illustrious, very Noble, Rich and Very Loyal City of Valladolid, written by Manuel Canesi Acevedo (1681-1750) and the Diario Pinciano, first newspaper of Valladolid, work of José Mariano Beristáin, whose first issue was published on February 7, 1787, being the first newspaper of Valladolid. There has been a voiding of these sources, whose basis is the documentary justification of this work.
KEYWORDS: Valladolid, Holy Week, 18th Century, pasos, processions, Sculpture, Diario de Valladolid
RESUMEN
En el presente trabajo se pretende dar una visión de las celebraciones de la Semana Santa de Valladolid, y de sus celebrados conjuntos procesionales. No se pretende dar una simple visión histórica de esta celebración en el siglo XVIII, si no trazar que pensaban los contemporáneos de ese siglo de este potencial, cultural, artístico y antropológico que suponía la celebración a través de sus escritos. Es de destacar que tan singular fenómeno no se ciñó a las fronteras de la ciudad sino que fue un tema en consideración para la historiografía de ámbito nacional, por lo que recogemos tanto fuentes locales como nacionales, en un siglo el XVIII, que pasaremos de una mentalidad tardo barroca a una plenamente ilustrada, cambio que en ocasiones se desarrolló de manera traumática, pensamientos encontrados que quedaron marcados en maneras distintas de narrar, desde la historia pre científica hasta la crónica periodística. De manera específica se han analizado y comparado tres fuentes de información coetáneas a la época, una de ellas el primer diario publicado en Valladolid. Las fuentes utilizada son las siguientes: El Diario de Valladolid fue redactado por Ventura Pérez entre 1720 y 1784; la Historia Secular y Eclesiástica de la muy Antigua, Augusta, Coronada, muy Ilustre, muy Noble, Rica y muy Leal Ciudad de Valladolid, escrita por Manuel Canesi Acevedo (1681-1750) y el Diario Pinciano, primer periódico de Valladolid, obra de José Mariano Beristáin, cuyo primer número se editó el 7 de febrero de 1787, siendo el primer periódico de Valladolid. Se ha realizado un vaciado de estas fuentes, cuya base es la justificación documental del presente trabajo.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Valladolid, Semana Santa, siglo XVIII, pasos, procesiones, Escultura, Diario de Valladolid
RESUME
Neste presente trabalho pretende-se dar uma visão das celebrações da Semana Santa de Valladolid, e de seus celebrados conjuntos de procissão. Não se pretende dar uma simples visão histórica desta celebração no século XVIII, e sim traçar o que pensavam os contemporâneos de este século de este potencial, cultural, artístico e antropológico que supunha a celebração através de seus escritos. É de destacar que tão singular fenômeno não se cingiu às fronteiras desta cidade, se não que foi um tema em consideração para a historiografia de âmbito nacional, pelo qual recolhemos fontes de informação tanto locais como nacionais, em um século, o XVIII, que passaremos de uma mentalidade barroca tardia a uma plenamente ilustrada, mudança que em ocasiões se desenvolveu de maneira traumática, pensamentos encontrados que ficaram marcados em maneiras distintas de narrar, desde a história pré-científica até a crônica jornalística. De maneira especifica foram analisadas e comparadas três fontes de informação coetâneas à a época , uma delas o primeiro jornal publicado em Valladolid. As fontes utilizadas são as seguintes: El Diario de Valladolid foi redigido por Antigua, Augusta, Coronada, muy Ilustre, muy Noble, Rica y muy Leal Ciudad de Valladolid, escrita por Manuel Canesi Acevedo (1681-1750) e o Diario Pinciano, primeiro jornal de Valladolid, obra de José Mariano Beristáin, cujo primeiro número foi editado em 7 de fevereiro de 1787, sendo o primeiro jornal de Valladolid. Foi feito um esvaziamento destas fontes, cuja base é a justificação documental do presente trabalho.
PALAVRAS CHAVE: Valladolid, Semana Santa, século XVIII, procissões, Escultura, Jornal de Valladolid
Correspondencia:
Rubén Sánchez Guzmán: Madrid City Hall, Latin District. Spain.
Ruben_sanguzman@hotmail.com
Antonio Rafael Fernández Paradas. University of Granada. Spain. España.
Antonioparadas@ugr.es
Received: 06/03/2019
Accepted: 29/04/2019
Published: 15/03/2020
How to cite the article:
Sánchez Guzmán, R. & Fernández Paradas, A. R. (2020). From the chronicle to journalism, sources for the construction of the illustrated holy week. [De la crónica al periodismo, fuentes para el constructo de la semana santa ilustrada]. Vivat Academia. Revista de Comunicación, 150, 1-24. doi: http://doi.org/10.15178/va.2020.150.1-24 Recovered from
http://www.vivatacademia.net/index.php/vivat/article/view/1170
1. INTRODUCTION
The eighteenth century, was an important change when it comes to the celebration of Easter Week, we went from a baroque society, which developed the concept of penitential brotherhood, in addition to devotional exaltation from the processional image to another illustrated, which did not understand or did not want to understand the former. The new religious approaches that advocated a purer religiosity stripped of any superstition, although it was not that of the people, it was that of the elites they had in power. The concept itself of baroque party, with all that it implies: cultural, paraliturgical and artistic, manifestations, were held by popular excess manifestations that showed a superstitious and heterodox religiosity. The measures that from the top of the state took place for the sake of a religious purism, in the end were the trigger for the deep crisis that affected these celebrations from the late eighteenth, to well into the nineteenth. As Sánchez Herrero has worked well, rather than a crisis, one should speak of different and successive crises, so if the reign of Carlos III, is marked by an institutional and reformist crisis that would reach the War of Independence, the crisis of 19th century, marked by the confiscation of Mendizábal are of an economic and ideological nature, by the irruption of the progressive liberal mentality (Sánchez Herrero, 2003, pp. 171-172).
2. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this publication is to analyze various sources of information as a basis for the construction of knowledge about Vallisoletana Easter in the eighteenth century, in various aspects, such as the organization, parades, councils, decline, conservation etc. Easter Week in Valladolid had an extraordinary literary correlate at different times, each stage providing its own visions in new formats. Such is the case of the written press, which came to create a terribly rich dissemination space by being full of first-person statements, which allows us to analyze the mentalities of the time.
Using these sources it is intended to build the mental image that Valladolid’s own society in relation to what was one of its most important social manifestations, Easter Week. Specifically, the proposed objectives are the following:
1. Value the importance of certain sources as an element for the construction of historical knowledge.
2. Analyze the media of the time as a source of information to understand the mentalities of the time through Easter Week.
3. Compare and analyze three sources of information from the 18th century related to Holy Week in Valladolid.
4. Analyze the influences of the ideas illustrated in the Baroque Easter Week.
5. Evidence the organization of Easter Week of the time.
6. Exemplify the criticisms and Easter Week conservation measures taken at the time on the processional floats.
3. METHODOLOGY
The methodology used is qualitative and comparative, since the contents of various texts and periodical publications of the eighteenth century that deal with the Easter Week of Valladolid are analyzed, dealing with specific issues such as the floats, their conservation or the authorship of the images. (Sanz, R., 2017). In turn, an analytical method has been used, through which an investigation has been carried out focused on the analysis of particular issues that allow us to offer a holistic view of the object of the investigation.
The methodology of this research has been developed over five phases (Costas Fontán, N. 2015):
1. Preliminary phase. It includes:
Delimitation of the object of study. Although the text presents many references to historical literary and artistic sources of the time, the basis of the analysis has been based on three main sources: El “Diario de Valladolid” was written by Ventura Pérez (Egido, 1983, pp. I-XIV) between 1720 and 1784; the “Diario de Valladolid” was written by Ventura Pérez between 1720 and 1784; the “Historia Secular y Eclesiástica de la muy Antigua, Augusta, Coronada, muy Ilustre, muy Noble, Rica y muy Leal Ciudad de Valladolid”, written by Manuel Canesi Acevedo (1681-1750) and “Diario Pinciano”, the first newspaper of Valladolid, the work of José Mariano Beristáin, whose first issue was published on February 7th, 1787, being the first newspaper in Valladolid. An emptying of these sources has been carried out; whose basis is the documentary justification of this work.
2. Exploratory phase. It includes:
During this stage, we have consulted works of reference works and scientific publications specialized in sculpture, Easter, conservation, etc. This phase of the work has allowed us to contrast the sources analyzed as the object of this investigation. A search of specialized bibliographic information was carried out that has allowed us to clarify, explain or illustrate the statements made by the sources analyzed. Thus, for example, in relation to the authorship of the floats, the information collected in the sources has been contrasted with research on the subject, which has allowed us to critically assess the original comments.
3. Descriptive phase. It includes:
Three main sources of reference have been analyzed. Prior to the systematization of the information contained in the sources, their structures and the ways of organizing the information have been taken into account. A descriptive analysis of the historical sources has been carried out.
4. Comparative and interpretive phase. It includes:
In this phase of the investigation, the information poured into different categories has been grouped, such as the number of floats, headquarters, organization of the procession, conflicts, attributions, conservation of the floats, etc. Based on these categories, the sources under study have been compared, enriching the research with other primary sources of the time and texts by contemporary researchers.
5. Conclusive phase. It includes:
To finish the work, a series of conclusions are proposed that compile the results obtained in the analysis.
3.1. The sources of reference
Easter Week in Valladolid and its key artistic manifestation, the processional floats, did not go unnoticed by writers, theorists and travelers of the eighteenth century. National theorists such as Antonio Palomino, El Panaso Spanish Picturesque Laureate (1724), Antonio Ponz, Travel of Spain (1788), Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez Historical Dictionary of the most illustrious professors of Fine Arts in Spain (1800) or Isidoro Bosarte, Travel artistic to several villages in Spain. With the judgment of the works of the noble arts that exist in them and times to which they belong. Trip to Segovia, Valladolid and Burgos (1804) and other locals such as Ventura Pérez, Manuel Canesi Acevedo or Mariano Beriatáin, will echo them and give us references in their works. Although national treatise writers are well known, we want to highlight the authors of the sources managed by Valladolid.
The “Diario de Valladolid” was written by Ventura Pérez (Egido, 1983, pp. I-XIV) between 1720 and 1784 and completed with news collected from various authors prior to the year 20, and others after 84, added by the heirs of the author himself . The historical evaluation of the work is not only pinned on the historical data (verified in most cases), but on the occasion it offers to capture the “men who lived and died in those houses and convents and who walked along the street” (Egido, 1983, pp. III-IV). It could not spread as much as the author would have liked, because illiteracy was a difficult barrier to save, but it reflected a peculiar sensitivity, according to Teófanes Egido “fortunately we have an esteemed representative of the enlightened minority, we can contrast the chasm that mediates between Beristáin and Ventura Pérez. Ventura Pérez is carelessly brought about by the elite culture that obsesses Beristain” (Egido, 1983, p. I-III).
The author was an assembler, introduced in the guilds and brotherhoods of the time, but poor and sparsely cultivated. His intimate convictions, temperament and social status is reflected in the “Diario”. In this sense, the spaces dedicated to social and labor conflicts, such as hunger riots and shortages, are of interest (Enciso Recio, 1984, p. 120).
Although Ventura Pérez only had first-letter studies, enriched with his experience as an organist’s assistant, he was manifestly curious about historical-artistic themes. He dedicated himself to complete until the second half of the century, a classic, the “Historia de Valladolid” by Antolínez de Burgos, and as a fan of the beauty, fond of making designs of the facades of the most prominent temples, as well as of the shields and blazons that ran through some of his houses (Enciso Recio, 1984, p. 120).
The news collected in his diary is of a huge variety resulting in a rich and heterogeneous content, reflecting his personal worldview of Valladolid. Theophanes Egido has tried to condense it into three sections: the sacred, death and the festive.
We find the Religious in a multidirectional way; he either speaks about religious buildings, or liturgies, processions, sermons, use and ringing of bells etc. how the people interacts with divinity before natural adversities, plagues, droughts, or the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 where the “wrath of God” shook the pre-illustrated consciences not only on the peninsula, but throughout Europe.
The references to the daily deaths are constant, accidental, labor, criminal, drowned by floods, burned in fires, brawls, confrontations between students and soldiers, inmates, whether they were religious or civil justice (few in quantity at the time ) but that remained a permanent spectacle “in tune with the medicinal nature of grief and revealing of a peculiar and distant sensibility, accustomed to the contemplation of arms, hands, legs and heads dismembered and exposed” (Egido, 1983, p. I-XII).
However, the other side of the coin was the party, the residents of Valladolid, took advantage of any occasion to launch into public rejoicing. Easter Week was celebrated solemnly, the festive was not exempt, though and it even caused more than one lawsuit or problem with the authority, Corpus Christi or the celebrations of the Patrono “San Pedro Regalado”, the carnivals, annually or extraordinarily, the stays of the kings in the city or their proclamations.
The other reference work is the “Historia Secular y Eclesiástica de la muy Antigua, Augusta, Coronada, muy Ilustre, muy Noble, Rica y muy Leal Ciudad de Valladolid”, written by Manuel Canesi Acevedo (1681-1750). Little by little, we learn more about the life and personality of Canesi. His intellectual training and his cultural, historical and literary concerns give us certain details. We know he was born in the first days of 1681, of the marriage formed by Magdalena Callejo Frías and Juan Francisco Canesi Acevedo. His father, butler of own and rents of the city, liked poetry and reading, hobbies the son inherited, because in his “Historia de Valladolid”, he will demonstrate a vast knowledge (Almuiña, 1996, p. XVI).
Although in 1697 we found him enrolled in the first course of Canons, he had to leave it soon (due to lack of vocation or force majeure) because his name disappears from the university archives. He did not become an ordained priest, and married María Teresa Diez, without having descendants (Almuiña, 1996, pp. XVI-XVII).
We know that his trade, or modus vivendi, was steelyard or weigher in the major butcher shops and that his economic means were rather scarce, most of them coming from the inheritance of his wife who died prematurely. On April 5th, 1750, he made a will leaving the girl María del Álamo, daughter of notary Manuel del Álamo, who wrote his will as principal heiress, and died on that 17th of his month at his house on Passion Street, being buried in the church of San Lorenzo (Almuiña, 1996, p. XVII).
Although none of these genres has come to us, we know that he wrote poetry and some plays that came to be represented in the theater of the Comedy of Valladolid. However, his most important and ambitious work is his “Historia Secular y Eclesiástica de la muy antigua, augusta, coronada, muy ilustre, muy noble, rica y muy leal Ciudad de Valladolid. Dedicada a los señores Justicia y Regimiento. Compuesta por D. Manuel Canesi Acevedo, natural de ella y creado en su excelso Ayuntamiento”, which nevertheless, he never saw published in life, it had to wait more than two centuries to see the light. The history of the manuscript is full of vicissitudes and setbacks, and in his testament Canesi refers to the manuscript clearly “I declare I have composed the Secular and Ecclesiastical History of my Homeland Valladolid, it is my will to be suspended by my heir and its amount becomes suffrages for my soul, that of my wife and others for whom I have an obligation”, so the manuscript would be ready for printing. However, that was not the case, and the text was sold by Manuel del Álamo to Mr. Estrada, who in turn sells it to the gentleman from Valladolid Diego Sierra, who when moving to Palencia carries the manuscript (Almuiña, 1996, p. XVII). From here on its track is lost, appearing in an old bookstore in Madrid, where it is bought by the lawyer from Bilbao Fidel de Sagarminaga (Almuiña, 1996, p. XVIII). Meanwhile, in the city, the manuscript was considered lost until 1884, when the historian Juan Ortega Rubio made the news of its conservation in the Sagarminaga collection in the Mercantile Chronicle. This Basque lawyer and politician ended up donating his library to the Bilbao Provincial Council, including the Valladolid History manuscript. The archivist of this institution, Darío de Areito, facilitates in 1914 the index of the work for publication in the “Boletín de la Sociedad Castellana de Excursiones”. Although from here, the manuscript was known, extracted, consulted and frequently cited in the historiography of Valladolid, it was not until 1996 when it was published in its entirety. (Almuiña, 1996, p. XVIII).
Canesi divided his “Historia de Valladolid” into six books, but he planned to group them into three volumes for publication, an idea that, although late, was respected in 1996.
In its conception it takes as a clear reference the history of Valladolid by Juan Antolínez de Burgos, but with a different historiographical approach, when introducing Canesi, in addition to the study of the documents, the own tradition existing in the city of the future of events, the manuscript has been judged from the historical point of view unevenly, the systematic monitoring of Antolínez de Burgos, the absence of method, its numerous errors, and its complex and baroque literary style have been highlighted. However, its values have also been highlighted in the rich and suggestive artistic, geographical descriptions that provide a rich torrent of news.
The third source managed is the “Diario Pinciano”, the first newspaper in Valladolid, designed by José Mariano Beristáin. Beristain was born in Puebla de los Ángeles (Mexico), on May 22nd, 1756. At San Pedro y San Pablo College, in his hometown, he obtained a scholarship and studied rhetoric, philosophy and theology (Alonso Cortes, 1933, p. SAW). The Bishop of Puebla, Francisco Fabián y Fuero, was then promoted to the archbishopric of Valencia, expressly wanting to accompany him. In Valencia, Beristáin continued the Theology and Sacred Scripture courses, taking a doctorate in 1776. It seems that by 1782 he had some differences with Archbishop Fabián and Fuero, since we already found him in Valladolid, opposing the vacant Magistral prebend in the Cathedral Church, position that he did not get (Alonso Cortes, 1933, p. VIII).
There was no lack of field in Valladolid to the activity of Beristain. We see him immediately enter and intervene in the Royal Geographical-Historical Academy, where he explained elements of geometry (Alonso Cortes, 1933, p. IX). He participated actively in the Royal Academy of Mathematics and Fine Arts of the “Purísima Concepción”, since his entry on November 30, 1783, actively participating in the most diverse matters. He came to hold the position of counselor. The tasks of the “Diario Pinciano” must have absorbed largely the occupations of Beristain from 1787 to 1788.
On Wednesday, February 7th, 1787, the “Diario”, first newspaper in Valladolid, was published. On Wednesdays and later on Saturdays it came to light, with a 4-sheet format, in a single column, and without illustrations. It cost half a real and was printed by Santander and later by Garrido. The subscription price for 6 months was twelve reals. The promoter, director, administrator and editor was José Mariano Beristáin, but the restless journalist was not alone in the task; More or less occasional collaborators were: Floranes, Alonso Ortiz, Manuel de Villades, director of the University, Ramón Fernández Correa, Andrés del Corral, Félix Martínez López and Tomas Moyano. The newspaper had a short life, barely seventeen months (Enciso Recio, 1984, p. 121).
The life of Beristaín imbued in the illustrated ideas, was actively developed until 1788, when he decided to move to Vitoria to oppose the electoral canonry of Vitoria, a position he obtained, having left his chair of Valladolid. He did not occupy the position for a long time, since in 1790 he accompanies the Bishop of Vitoria to his new headquarters in Puebla, where Beristáin fails to settle within the town hall, returning to his headquarters in Vitoria. In 1794, he moved back to Mexico, where he got definitively into Mexican politics until his death, which occurred on March 23rd, 1817 (Alonso Cortes, 1933, pp. XXVIII-XXX).
4. DISCUSSION
4.1. The celebration of Easter week and the XVIII century. From splendor to decline
The celebrations of the Great Week of Valladolid began in the eighteenth century with great splendor, which would be increased during the first third of the century. Brotherhoods already had their main heritage, the floats. During the century, the task was to keep them. The economic flow began to be used for other types of works, especially the beautification of their respective headquarters. Thus, “Las Angustias” Brotherhood built the chapel on a new floor, where the holder, “Virgen de las Angustias”, was to be worshiped with maximum splendor. Ventura Pérez gives us news of the act:
That year, 1710, “María Santísima de los Cuchillos” was placed in her new chapel, the whole city was very adorned with Altars and many silver jewelry; and with Mr. Archduke (Carlos of Austria) he was in Spain, all seemed to indicate that he was coming to this city because of having sent a drum to ask for the keys, and the city had responded that the keys belonged to Felipe V; however if he wanted them he had to come for them. With this motive, people began to say that the enemy was coming, and in one night, they dismantled the silver one that was in the street and instead they adorned it with pasta, and the archduke did not come (Pérez, 1885, p. 30).
The one of Jesus in 1704 opens an altarpiece for the Nazarene (Pérez, 1885, p. 22); and that of “La Piedad” completes its church with a new chapel, a sacristy and a new dressing room. Ventura Pérez describes the feasts for the placement of “Nuestra Señora de la Piedad” in her main chapel (Pérez, 1885, p. 91) and, years later “Del Santísimo” (Pérez, 1885, p. 126-128); and “La Pasión” that was not going to be less, decides to take in procession, since 1705, in the image of “Nuestra Señora de la Pasión”, holder of the same.
All these novelties show the enormous economic power that the penitential brotherhoods possessed, and by extension their external celebrations, which were not limited only to the days of the Passion Week, but also that each penitential celebrated its holiday. “La Vera Cruz”, on May 3rd (Pérez, 1885, p. 496); “Las Angustias”, “La Encarnación” on March 25th (García Chico, 1964, pp. 11-12); “La Pasión”, “San Juan Degollado” (Canesi, 1996, p. 27), where all the penitential brotherhoods participated, accompanying the procession or assembling altars. We must not forget the active participation of the brotherhoods in the celebration of Corpus, the canonization of Saint Pedro Regalado, the beatification of San Simón de Rojas, or other less festive ones such as the prayers for rain (Pérez, 1885, pp. 289- 290).
The fame of the processions of Valladolid was already celebrated by a large part of the Catholic world. Canesi’s work allows us an exact vision of how Easter Week processions are celebrated in the first half of the 18th century: the number and description of the floats that formed them, their schedules, itineraries, how they were organized and how the penitential brotherhoods were constituted, which by the year 1730 were at the peak of their splendor, and why in 1731 they will embark on a dizzying march towards decline, making certain the omens of Canesi that will lead them to their total disappearance in a century. In the third book of his “Historia de Valladolid”, in chapter two, entitled “Of the five penitentiary brotherhoods that were instituted in this city and of the Easter Week processions, which are so applauded throughout Europe”, he tells us these facts, which we will comment later. Next, he describes the processions.
The first procession left at nine o’clock at night on Holy Wednesday from the Penitential de la Vera Cruz, on the way to the convent of San Francisco. More than 600 people lit it; spread over 60 to 80 sections between float and float. The procession was closed by the parish priest of Santiago, on whose jurisdiction depended Vera Cruz. The procession is completed with the Mayors of “El Crimen”, the Corregidor or his Lieutenant, and representatives of the courts. This procession was formed, in the words of Canesi, by the following floats: “The prayer that Christ says in the Garden, the Scourge, the Coronation, that of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, taking Christ down from the Cross, present his Blessed Mother” (Canesi, 1996, p. 23).
The second procession left between 4 and 5 in the afternoon of Holy Thursday from the Hermitage of “Nuestra Señora de la Pasión” (formerly it was from the convent of “Trinitarios Calzados”), crossing the “Plaza Mayor”, it reached the “Ochavo”, continuing through “Platería, Cantarranas, Cañuelo”and crossing through “Mesón de Magaña” entered the cathedral. Once outside it went down Orates to “Mercaderes de Paños y Sedas”, continuing through “Lonja” to the “Plaza Mayor” and from here to finish at “his sacred house” (Canesi, 1996, pp. 23-24). It was lit by more than 700 people of “all arts and exercise”, and it was closed by the parish priest of San Lorenzo, to whose demarcation it belonged, and as it was traditional, the Mayors of “El Crimen”, with the Corregidor and their ministers. The floats that processed with it were:
The Whipping, Jesus Nazarene, and the Cirineo helping him carry the cross, a Jew with the spear wounding his side and the two women who came out to meet Jesus and the one who wiped his face in the street of bitterness, called Veronica. Christ Praying to his eternal Father, this man is called the one of Forgiveness and is placed on the great Field when there are burned people. Christ on the Cross, and the Jews pulling with some ropes of it to raise it, and the two thieves in his sight on the floor standing. Christ on the Cross, and St. John and the Magdalene crying and his most holy mother and two Jews splitting their clothes and seamless robes. “Nuestra Señora de la Pasión” with her precious son in her lap, this float leaves from 1705 (Canesi, 1996, p. 24).
Concluded the procession of “La Pasión”, the third procession from the Convent of San Francisco left for the street. This procession was the one of the return of the Cross to its church, with the same route as Wednesday, but in the opposite direction. It left the convent of San Francisco at the “Plaza Mayor”, continued along “Lonja” street, “Ochavo, Platería, Cantarranas, Cañuelo” to the cathedral, from here it went down “Petrimería” to “Mercaderes de Paños”, went up through “Platerías” to its “Vera Cruz” temple (Canesi, 1996, p. 23).
At 9 p.m. on the same Holy Thursday, the fourth procession left, that of “Las Angustias”, which ended its journey at the convent of San Pablo, where it remained until the following day. More than 600 people lit it. The procession was closed by the parish of the Cathedral, for being its district, and “La Sala del Crimen” with its ministers and pages. The floats that formed this procession according to Canesi are:
A Crucified Christ. Another one in the lap of his holy Mother when the two thieves put on their crosses descended from the cross. Another Christ in the Sepulcher who is illuminated by a clearing of priests... Another Christ in the sepulcher and the guards who put him there asleep. “Nuestra Señora de los Cuchillos”, an image of special devotion and workmanship, like most of them (Canesi, 1996, p. 24).
The historian does not indicate the itinerary, but it is assumed that, as in the case of “Vera Cruz”, it would follow the same as the one on Friday, but in the opposite direction
The fifth, that of Jesus Nazarene, left its hermitage (previously it had done it from the convent of the “Agustinos Calzados”) on Good Friday “when breaking the dawn, but for not being able to attend those who make it up so early, it has been transferred for 8 o clock in the morning ”(Canesi, 1996, p. 24). The entourage was formed by the members of the brotherhoods and deputies of the brotherhood, just as it happened “in the other processions they go disciplined and armed” (Canesi, 1996, p. 24). Regarding the itinerary, it was the same one where “La Pasión” walked, except when it returned from the cathedral and arrived at “Mercaderes de Paños”, it cut through “Cebadería”, from where it arrived in Santiago. The floats they took to the street were “Jesus Nazarene…. Following it when they were carrying the cross to put it on it. Christ crucified and a Jew nailing the label in Hebrew, Greek and Latin and two sayons splitting the tunic and playing it to the dodos” (Canesi, 1996, p. 24-25).
The next procession described by Canesi during Good Friday was not linked to any of the five penitential brotherhoods. The procession left the convent of San Pablo, once the sermon on “Soledad de María” had finished, with the attendance of the whole community and more than twenty religious dressed in dalmatics donated by their employer the Duke of Lerma with black veils on the head. In one source, they carried the attributes of the passion of Christ. The ancient image of “Nuestra Señora del Rosario” comes to it. In the middle of the community, they carried the image of “Nuestro Señor del Sepulcro”, hence the name of “Procesión del Santo Entierro”. The ceremony was held in the chapel open to the cloister called the sepulcher, through which it left turning to the “Palacio Real” square, to enter through the door of the cloister to end up in the chapel where he had left from. (Canesi, 1996, p. 25).
From the hermitage of “La Piedad”, the seventh procession started, at five in the afternoon, formerly it was from “Merced Calzada”. The procession consisted of “people of all exercises and arts and many of distinction”. In the last section, which was that of our “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad”, it was according to Canesi very lucid with more than three hundred people of devotion and many of discipline. The procession was closed by the parish priest and chaplains of “El Salvador” and other civil authorities (Canesi, 1996, p. 25). The floats they took were:
Christ with the incarnate robe sitting and behind the cross and the attributes of passion, distributed in its size. Longinos on horseback throwing Christ already crucified and his holy Mother and St. John in his sight. The cross alone in which Christ died. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus with the deceased Christ in his arms when he was brought down from the cross, the one in his sight, and the Magdalene and another figure opening the sepulcher. “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad” in view of the cross, disconsolate by the unjust death of her beloved son (Canesi, 1996, p. 25).
The eighth and final procession was the one leaving San Pablo, which returned to “Las Angustias”, repeating everything of the day before, but with greater ostentation and grandeur, surrounded by a special solemnity. The Christ in the Sepulcher was accompanied by the priests who wanted to enlighten him, while “La Virgen de los Cuchillos”, who closed the procession, was lit with axes, being accompanied by “many armed men” and “numerous penitents”. The parade went down from the Convent of San Pablo to “La Plaza del Almirante” by “Plazuela Vieja”, continuing later on “Cantarranas”, and “Platerías” to “Mercaderes de Paños”, then on “Chapineros”, it went up to the Cathedral, just like the others did. Once outside the cathedral temple, it crossed “Esgueva” by “Puente Magaña”, to “Las Angustias”, where it ended (Canesi, 1996, pp. 25-26).
Although it is true that these processions were the most colorful, there were others also cited by Canesi. The one that was developed on Palm Sunday, and that strictly, should be the first: “The brotherhood of the Cross takes a very colorful float of the Triumph of Christ at the entrance of Jerusalem” (Canesi, 1996, p. 20) and which each parish and convent celebrated on Easter Week with the most holy.
Despite this splendor displayed by the penitential processions, they were not exempt from more or less fortuitous setbacks. Ventura Pérez, more aware of the peculiar anecdote, describes the accidents of 1725:
On March 28th of that year, the procession of the Cross did not leave until ten o’clock at night, because of the pouring rain, and on the 29th, Good Friday (I say, Holy Thursday), the procession of “La Pasión” left in the afternoon, in the rain, and the one of the cross could not leave further away from their houses, and the one of the “Las Angustias” left very late and in the rain. On the 30th, holy Friday, the procession of Jesus came out, without raining, but with fear... and in the afternoon the one of “La Piedad” came out, in the rain and at night the one of “Las Angustias” left, very late and while snowing. (Pérez, 1885, pp. 72-73).
The precarious organization and the anarchic development of the processions sometimes caused riots that contributed to their decline. The authorization, organization and monitoring of the development of the processions were submitted to “La Sala del Crimen” of the Royal Chancellery and it will continue like this until it is abolished in the 19th century. The processions of Valladolid Easter Week, already had at that time an age of more than two centuries and during those ones, it is logical that incidents had originated, in some cases of great importance. The one that happened in 1714, had immediate consequences. In the procession that had left on Holy Thursday “Las Angustias” to St. Paul at nine o’clock at night; the mayors of “El Crimen” went round in it, and because, the banners were not placed as they wanted or because they had been introduced in the clearing of the scribes, a riot was raised in which some pen officers were arrested; The Royal Council of Castile for these and other reasons banished Mayors José de la Cruz, Juan Antonio Osorio de Velasco and Alonso Yañez de Abacusa (Pérez, 1885, p. 41-42 and Canesi, 1996, p. 53). Canesi comments that “This issue woke up the muses and many ingenious people composed very discreet and humorous roles on the matter” (Canesi, 1996, p. 53).
The incident just described will have very serious consequences, but in reality it had not been among brotherhoods, very common in the previous centuries, but among people belonging to or subject to the same estate, the Chancellery.
“La Sala del Crimen” did not forget the corrective imposed by the Royal Council of Castile and a few years later, in 1731, President Don Andrés Bruna, issues a court order, which provides that all processions should leave at the hours assigned in their executive letters, and that the mayors and standards of the brotherhoods do not give public entertainment or secrets under certain penalties. The court order has two parts; the first one forces all processions to leave during the day, something materially impossible, as Canesi himself says “because if on Holy Thursday there are three processions and, each one needs at least two hours of time, how could the end be achieved?, even if the first one started at 2 in the afternoon?” (Canesi, 1996, p. 56); and the second one, with the ban on entertainment or refreshments, meant the disappearance of the income of the brotherhoods.
The consequences in the celebrations of that year were not long in coming, and under the explicit title of “Uproar Easter Week”, Ventura Pérez tells us:
The furnaces that the scribes had and more standard ones for the Easter Week were removed, and the processions were commanded to leave during the day, which was carried out like this that year, anticipating all the ones that came out at night, such as taking the floats of the Cross that were taken on Wednesday night were actually taken in the afternoon, and those of “Las Angustias” that are taken on Holy Thursday after the procession of the Cross, were taken on Thursday afternoon and all other processions were disrupted (Pérez, 1885, p. 108).
More spectacular is the story of Canesi in relation to the procession of the Vera Cruz on Wednesday, describing how the procession developed “without hearing other music than the cries of the people who were apprehended and the bailiffs who bothered them, laments and complaints of the officials of the brotherhood and the ones that saw it; everything was fear and confusion” (Canesi, 1996, p. 57).
Following these events began a tug of war between the Chancellery and the penitentiaries, which concluded in 1734 with the presentation of the latest allegations by the brotherhoods against the said court order, ensuring that, if the prohibitions appealed were maintained, there would be no procession and the damages caused to commerce, the public and the image of the City would be very important. “La Sala del Crimen” did not take into account allegations and it was necessary to appeal to the Royal Council of Castile, which accepted them, mandating that the Penitential brotherhoods “keep the custom that has hitherto had in regards to entertainment, refreshments and other functions, but they should not have furnaces or games prohibited, in the exits the hours and customs will be maintained and that all present go with modesty and veneration”. The president of “La Sala del Crimen”, not complying with this resolution and using his authority against most of the judges, goes to the king, who was in Seville with the Court, with the opinion in his favor of the Bishop, and achieves the processions leave during the day and that the court order issued is applied.
Meanwhile the celebrations did not have the lost splendor again, starting an uncontrollable downhill that we can follow by the data offered by Ventura Pérez. In 1736 the Vera Cruz procession has problems with the Parish priest of San Miguel (Pérez, 1885, p. 136), who claims his rights of jurisdiction and does not go to San Francisco, and a year later he is forced to take the floats to San Francisco on Thursday morning (Pérez, 1885, p. 144). In 1742 problems arise to go out in the brotherhoods of “Angustias” and “Piedad”, since their floats were not armed “they only put “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad” and the Christ of Humility to walk, but it remained that way; “Nuestra Señora de Los Cuchillos” was not lowered from her throne”, a situation that is repeated the following year (Pérez, 1885, p. 143).
The first symptom of decline that is accused in penitential brotherhoods is picked up again by Ventura Pérez, in 1762, although in his brief point there was no cause, undoubtedly motivated by the lack of brotherhood members to carry certain floats of the penitential of “La Piedad” on shoulders, saying that that year they reduced that of “La Lanzada de Longinos” and completely removing the one from the sepulcher (Pérez, 1885, p. 350). Seven years later it was the brotherhood of “Vera Cruz” the one that was forced to a very similar operation when leaving alone “with the passage of the Garden, without soldiers, only the Lord and the Angel in a walk with a little corridor, and the Lord in the column alone in other walks” (Pérez, 1885, pp. 425); On the other hand, the remaining brotherhoods did not introduce any new developments in theirs. The following year the brotherhood of “Las Angustias”, although it put on its floats, it must have had problems in its movement with them from its headquarters to the neighboring convent of San Pablo and vice versa (Pérez, 1885, pp. 437), and in 1771, the same diarist says he assures that the “Vera Cruz” procession did not come out, rejoicing instead that the brotherhood of “La Piedad” could take three of its floats: “Longinos”, the Christ of Humility and “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad” (Pérez, 1885, pp. 448-449). In 1770, the brotherhood of “Las Angustias” practically dispensed with the procession in public, and walked “with a very poor clearing”. Since 1777, this same brotherhood had to dispense with tunics (Pérez, 1885, pp. 490 and 506).
No doubt something was changing in the devotional practices of Easter Week. It cannot be forgotten that on Good Friday of 1752 “the descent to the living started at the convent of “Santísima Trinidad de Calzados” (Pérez, 1885, p. 349-350), and this practice would cause some competition with the putting on of the passage of the Descent of the Vera Cruz and even with that of the “La Piedad” of the “Penitencial de las Angustias” since in the ceremony it was achieved with the performance of figurants an effect superior to the one that caused the realism of the floats, the expenses that caused the large number of porters carrying these were significantly reduced and the possibility of having to regret misfortunes such as the “busted” of the year 1741 was avoided (Pérez, 1885, p. 189).
The processions continued to be held in a very precarious way, when exceptionally some more or less decent came out, and that vaguely reminisced of the ancient splendor, it was received by the people with authentic excitement and fervor, as an extraordinary fact as it appears from the words of Ventura Pérez:
and “La Piedad” left only with the clearing of devotion and it was very good because the floats “Longinos”, the “Cristo de la Humildad” and “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad” came out. All the devotees took their banners and the coachmen took their cross home; they took their banner and with gladness and joy they had their soda for having taken out the virgin and having left all the wax that the lighters needed (Pérez, 1885, pp. 448-449).
As you can see the brotherhood does not organize the procession, it was the devotees on an individual basis who are responsible for taking it out.
Actually, at this point, the penitentials were victims of enlightened attacks. The reports raised to the authority in 1773 by the mayor Ángel Bustamante, allow to trace some of the most interesting and popular aspects of the five brotherhoods. He comments that, except for “La Pasión”, the others had lost their welfare purpose being their main purpose at that time devotional and processional, according to the erudite, true scenes of scandal, because with the excuse of the processions, the people, the streets and balconies were crowded with “people of both sexes, so far from compassion and devotion, that it’d rather looks like a Carnival celebration”. The mayor does not find words to express the indecencies and scandals that these processions cause in all kinds of people, particularly “in the procession that calls the Burial of Christ, which is what the brotherhood “Las Angustias” does, which curiously came out at dusk (Egido, 1984, p. 181). The battery of enlightened Despotism against the brotherhoods focused, in addition to its hostility towards any form of association, on two fundamental reasons: the expenses that functions and processions caused to the mayors, butlers and brotherhood members, implying that they are almost the ruin of Spain: and on the incompatibility of a rigorous, Para-Jansenism religiosity with these popular expressions.
In summary, the close control that the Court of the Royal Chancellery of Valladolid exercised over the brotherhoods to avoid confrontations among them, riots and superfluous expenses that could not face their brotherhood members, the cooling of devotion, of which was mainly accused the ruling classes , the progressive introduction of enlightened ideas, the shortage of economic resources that prevented the maintenance of the service in five penitential churches, caused the discouragement and disinterest in continuing to keep, with the same spirit, the splendor or the notoriety that the processions had reached in their brightest days. Even the precipitous abandonment in 1789 by the Brotherhood of “La Piedad” of its penitential headquarters, and its settling in the neighboring San Antón, constitute the best example of the precariousness in which the brotherhoods began in the 19th century, accentuating with the new intervention in 1806 of “La Sala del Crimen” of the Royal Chancellery, trying to reduce all the processions to a single one on Good Friday, and especially with the war of Independence, which was a blow, of which they would hardly recover.
4.2. The processional floats. Splendor and crisis. The role of the royal fine arts academy
There is a temporary chasm between the descriptions of Pinheiro da Veiga in the early seventeenth century and that of travelers and scholars of the eighteenth century, who never get tired of praising their floats, but always from an artistic point of view. On the other hand, Ventura Pérez and even Canesi rather with the popular discourse, speak of the floats without astonishment and naturally, with an apparent artistic carelessness.
It is not patrimony of the eighteenth century, personal unanimously positive appreciations about the processional groups. Already in 1606 the Portuguese ambassador in the ephemeral Valladolid court of Felipe III, considered the floats that I could see in the processions as really exceptional “because instead of our painted flags, they bring bulk floats, of proportionate height, the prettiest and most beautiful that you can imagine, because these ones from Valladolid are the best there are in Castile, because of the proportion of their bodies, the beauty of their faces and dressing of their figures, that everything is of the same matter of cardboard and linen, that they are formed: and if a dress, cap or outer layer is required, it is brocade or fabric, so luckily they seem very well” (Pinheiro da Veiga, 1989, pp . 44). Unfortunately, the so-called “papelón”, floats, described by Pinheiro, none of them have been preserved, since that of the “Borriquita”, the only one of this material that has reached us, is not cited by him. The explanation of the disappearance of these floats is very simple. During the seventeenth century, the processions were commissioning new floats made of wood, as this material is much more durable than glued fabrics and cardboard. The first one to open fire in the renovation of the floats was Francisco de Rincón, with the exaltation for the brotherhood of “La Pasión”, followed by Gregorio Fernández who came to surpass his teacher and who was really the key figure to understand the renewal that was taking place. After Fernández, new ensembles continued to be created, throughout the seventeenth century, but Fernández’s shadow was too important, and other artists, often forced by the constituents constantly repeated his models.
The fame of these ensembles was increasing progressively and gradually during the eighteenth century. The words of Palomino, are eloquent enough “the floats of the Passion of Our Savior of that city, which in the opinion of great architects who have gone to see them ex professed, are the most select that Spain has” (Palomino, 1724/1986, p. 89). Canesi, who evidently knew all the floats and participated in the processions, does not save any kind of praise when referring to them: “All the workmanship of the floats are exquisite, especially those of Christ and his Mother, who in everything are perfect and with a lot of veneration and pity in everything they represent, because in the affections of a grieving mood they are with much property and liveliness. Those of the King of Glory majestically instill dread and reverence. And those of “Maria Santisima”, with sweetness, surrender to their love the most rebellious hearts” (Canesi, 1996, p. 102). We have to consider these words as coming out of a true “Fanatic” or of someone in love with his processions, or of someone from Valladolid who lives them out and laments the crisis of these ones.
The words of Canesi are the last testimony of a mentality that in the middle of the 18th century was languishing and giving way to an enlightened and political feeling that, as it has been seen, collided head-on with everything that was Easter Week. Of course, this thought, by then not very widespread, was the one practiced by the elites of power, and, above all, those who possessed the instruments of oppression. It could be thought that the high esteem that was given to the processional groups, both by the locals and by the foreigners, would decline with the new mentality, and what were once praises, would now turn into contempt. Paradoxically that did not happen, but rather its valuation was increased by adding new points of view, which until now had not appeared: The conservation and restoration of the processional groups. However, the first voices concerned about the state of conservation of these ensembles, were not heard from the city, but from the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. Antonio Ponz, secretary of this institution, claimed that the floats “suffer from their Easter Week work, because in assembling the floats and taking them through the streets, as they are large machines, some parts are always broken… which is very bad” (Ponz , 1788, p. 53) . Ponz’s conservationist approaches were already collected from Valladolid, by the aforementioned Mariano Beristáin, who lamented the state of deterioration of these ensembles and how little his compatriots did to remedy it. He argued that the ensembles were exposed during Easter Week in the open at the main square at the mercy of the whims of the weather, and that the way to take them (not very decorous and orderly) exposed them to any fall. He continued, not without irony, that, “if they left the Easter Week happily, the figures were thrown and cornered, giving them: to the jurisdiction of the moth, to the destructive dust, to the dampness and gloom of a dark hall, where they remain a year waiting, like the parents of Limbo for the coming of another Easter Week” (Beristain, 1933, pp. 102-103). The laments of the enlightened one did not finish here, since in the event these figures needed a restoration, that would fall in imperious hands that completely disfigured them as it happened with “La Virgen del Descenso”, the “Jesús de la Coronación” and the “Ángel del Huerto” among others ” (Beristain, 1933, p. 102) . To try to alleviate the situation, Ponz was inclined to have certain figures (we understand those of better quality) “remain in the temples, where the faithful went to see them, and venerate them on such days” (Ponz, 1788, p. 54). Beristáin, on his side, more knowledgeable about the Valladolid environment, proposed that the sacred images remain in the churches, in sight of the people, while the rest, fundamentally soldierly that was stored when the floats were dismantled, were collected by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Mathematics of the blessed Conception of Valladolid, born in 1779, “that will know how to take better care of it”, adding another interesting factor that they would serve as a model and copy. However, he is aware of the lack of competence of the academy in this regard by arguing that in order for the academy to take charge of them, it must go directly through a royal decision. “This will seem hard to the Brotherhoods and even unfair, but the king can do it” (Beristain, 1933, p. 54).
The recognition and value given to the processional groups by the Academy of the Immaculate Conception, was faultless. There are numerous data that prove interest in some of these pieces, which began to serve as a model for students’ exercises, or making copies and emptying them. So in the year of 1802, and taking advantage of the presence in Valladolid of some plaster castors, they were ordered the molds and emptied of the figures of the two thieves, of the float of “La Piedad” of Gregorio Fernández, still guarded by his brotherhood of “Las Angustias”, obtaining three copies of both. One of them stayed in Valladolid, ordering, “they be revealed in the Academy hall so that they serve as a model and the molds are guarded”, the other two being sold, one to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, and the other one to that of San Carlos de Valencia (Agapito and Revilla, 1925, pp. 114-117).
By that year of 1802, it had been enough years since the most monumental float had stopped leaving, an argument that served the Academy to address King Charles IV on July 11th, denouncing the situation of abandonment and neglect to which the processional groups were subjected. Before such arguments the king attended to the complaint and resolved the Royal Order of September 30th of that same year, channeled through his State and the Office, that the Academy was responsible for taking care of “the conservation of those precious monuments of the Arts, ensuring that they are not mistreated or disfigured, so that the city of Valladolid can have in view of the disciples of the Noble Arts models worthy of imitation and that of the intelligent and amateur objects to admire”(Agapito and Revilla, 1925 , pp. 102-103). Bosarte, well connected with the Academy of San Fernando, echoes this news “similar barbaric renovations (referring to the abandonment of the images and their unfortunate state of conservation), moved the Royal Academy of Valladolid to present to SM on the 11th of July of this year, exposing the disorder that was noted in renewing old images of great merit: whose presentation was served by his SM. Issuing his Royal Order on September 30th by entrusting the Academy to prevent this abuse; And another similar order was communicated to the Captain General of the province with the same date”(Bosarte, 1804, p. 201).
The Royal order did not take long to crystallize, with the creation of a commission that would be responsible for inventorying and preserving the figures that made up the processional floats. One of the first measures of it, was the visit to the five penitential churches, made by the commissioners of the Academy, the painters Diego Pérez Martínez and Leonardo Araujo in May 1803 (Agapito and Revilla, 1925, pp. 104), drafting a first inventory, in which they indicated that the figures that were in the warehouses of the congregations were “very mistreated... poorly retouched...with little cleanliness”, and some of the soldiers “shattered” and others entirely destroyed, noting that four sculptures were missing (two of the “Veracruz” and two of “La Pasión”) unaware that they had been sent to Madrid to Don Bernardo de Iriarte, bound for the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1797. In front of such a situation, the Academy of Valladolid decided to take action on the matter, deploying his administrative machinery by writing to the President of the Royal Chancellery of Valladolid. In the letter, which can be considered a true precedent in the conservation of heritage, and its restoration by current experts, which required the president to give the order that the floats only went out during the procession and that they were not exposed to the weather at the doors of the churches, in order to avoid restorations and touch-ups (some, such as those made by the Vera Cruz in its images, much-talked about, that completely disfigured them).
After the war of independence (April 1815) the Royal Academy returned to be interested in the state of conservation of the processional floats, the situation after this war period, although understandable, the situation of prostration of the brotherhoods was pitiful. The painters commissioned for this purpose Ceferino Araujo and Pedro González Martínez, described how they were so destroyed that the strange thing is that there was a complete one “missing heads, arms and numberless pieces”, or that of them, there is only “a leg or an arm”. Although these words must translate the status of the secondary figures, those main figures that were venerated in the churches did not run better luck. Thus the images of Vera Cruz of the angel of prayer or the image of the virgin of Vera Cruz were so grossly repainted that they were completely disfigured (Urrea, 200, p. 17).
It goes without saying that nothing was done to remedy such a situation, because years later, in a new recognition of the Academy of the Immaculate Conception, in 1828, carried out the canon, José Berdones, the painter Pedro González and the architect Pedro García, where they verified the lousy state that the figures continued to show, commenting not without a certain irony that they seemed to have “come out of a mess”, lamenting often (as it was being tonic) that they could be repaired by the Academy, concluding that as the processional going out of the ensembles was going to be complicated in the future, due to the need to spend on new boards and gates and the little money that the penitentials had, the most timely measure would be to transfer them to the Academy” (Urrea, 200, p 17).
However, this measure was, in principle, suspended, and it was not until after the confiscation of Mendizábal, the moment in which the Academy was commissioned to store in its headquarters the objects from the confiscated convents of Valladolid and its province, when the transfer was verified. In the meantime, the Academy, beset by the lack of space to store the confiscated pieces at its headquarters on the current Fray Luis de León street (formerly of Pedro Mazuecos), got, in 1838, Santa Cruz College as a new headquarters, in order to enable there a museum with the numerous works of art stored, in such a way that this moment of transfers from one headquarters to another one was used, to finally collect in the month of April 1841, some “effigies” of the penitential churches (Agapito and Revilla, 1916, p. 15).
The reception of the figures was a real chaos, their location being lost in the different floats, although some were marked according to the place of origin, a cross “+” (Vera Cruz), a “P” (Passion), or a “J ”(Jesus Nazarene), however, it was necessary to wait until the beginning of the 20th century, with the figure of Agapito and Revilla, so that the tremendous puzzle of assembling the floats with the preserved figures would begin to be solved, within a reform of Easter Week promoted by the figure of Archbishop Gandasegui, but that is another story.
5. CONCLUSIONS
As we have seen in this research, the celebration of Easter Week in Valladolid during the eighteenth century was marked by a period of sociological change from purely baroque thoughts, to others fully enlightened, which meant a real change in mentality. The Valladolid history reality does not differ much from the national reality and serves to press the consequences of this change both in the celebration of Holy Week, its brotherhoods, and its most outstanding artistic products, the processional floats. To this end we have used sources that run parallel to this social change from pre-scientific historical chronicles to fully enlightened visions, not only artistic, but what we find most attractive journalistic. At the same time, we can conclude that, although this change was traumatic for the penitential brotherhoods of the city, it served to give rise to new perspectives, outside the devotional, towards the floats, protection, conservation, restoration and safeguarding of heritage, concepts fully current nowadays began to forge then.
REFERENCES
AUTHORS:
Rubén Sánchez Guzmán: He has a degree in Art History from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He currently works as a professor of Art History and Knowing Madrid in the Cultural Centers of the Madrid City Council. He has been a teacher of the I Master in Spanish Baroque Sculpture. Since the golden centuries the information society and social networks taught by the International University of Andalusia and Expert Appraiser in Antiquities and Works of Art. Art Department Auction Room Lamas Bolaño Madrid. Performing the functions of appraisal, cataloging and personalized advice.
Ruben_sanguzman@hotmail.com
Antonio Rafael Fernández Paradas: Doctor in Art History from the University of Malaga, with the doctoral thesis entitled Historiography and methodologies of the History of furniture in Spain (1872-2011). A state of affairs. Graduated in Art History and Bachelor of Documentation from the University of Granada. Master in Expertise and Appraisal of Antiquities and works of art from the University of Alcalá de Henares. He is currently Assistant Professor Doctor of the University of Granada, where he teaches in the Department of Didactics of the Social Sciences of the Faculty of Education Sciences, and teacher of the Master’s Degree in Arts and Advertising at the University of Vigo.
Antonioparadas@ugr.es
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3751-7479