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Poem of Cordoba

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• Poem of Cordoba

This composition, full of lyricism, was defined by Romero de Torres as the reincarnation of past in present. It was painted in 1915, when the artist subscribed the School of Allegorists. In spite of the devotion professed to the Italian Renaissance, he never left aside the allusion and the atmosphere of his city.
His supreme work is an altarpiece, a format usually by Romero de Torres. This work has six equal-sized flat panels and one larger central flat panel. In the altarpiece appear eight women figures and —as a background— varied ideal landscapes. The painter interprets the spirit of Cordoba through its different periods. The essence and beauty of the painting lies in the play of symbols, the correspondence between women and background.
In the first left panel it is depicted the "Cordoba of the Great Captain or Cordoba Warrior". In the foreground appears a young girl luxuriously dressed, wearing an embroidered dress and a red shawl. At the background there is an imaginary square where it is combined some elements of the Córdoba architecture. In the center it is located an equestrian statue of the Great Captain, walled in by plateresque iron railings. In front of it, there are some horsemen. On the right, the house of Jerónimo Paez. Far away, appears the mountain range of Córdoba.
The second panel is the "Baroque Córdoba". In a foreground, a woman is wearing a white dress and a black shaw, lying on a pedestal. Engrossed on her thoughts, she is looking in an indolently way to the horizon. As a backdrop there is a square where it can be appreciated in the center an imaginary monument to the poet Góngora encircled by orange trees and some fragments of ancestral homes of Córdoba. A horseman crosses the Square and take his hat off to a female figure. In the distance there is the river, the railing in the banks and the hills at dusk.
The third panel represents the "Jewish Cordoba". A woman is leans back lazily on a lintel of a door. That door leads to a Square with a monument of the poet Maimonides in the center. In the distance, the Fuenseca Square and the Portillo Alley are depicted. A scene of love and jealousy is represented in miniature.
The central panel, larger than the others, refers to "The Christian Córdoba". Two female figures are holding a Triunfo de San Rafael (Statue of San Rafael) under an arch. That symbolizes the devotion of the whole Córdoba society to his Guardian Angel. The young girl on the left side is wearing a mantilla, and the other a shawl. The Triunfo de San Rafael that they are holding is a piece of silver Córdoba jewelry, an accurate copy of the well-known painting of Valdés Leal. In the background, Romero de Torres created an imaginary Square with a central fountain and the well-know façades of Córdoba. In distance, appear the river and the fields.
In the fifth panel, the female figure represent the "Roman Córdoba". She is wearing a earth-colored dress, trimmed in gold on its neckline, and a fine pearls necklace. Her body is mold like classical statue, propped over a pedestal and covered by her shawl. The background represents la Puerta del Puente (Bridge Gate) and thanks to its light, two arches can be seen. In front of it, there is an imaginary monument of Seneca with a miniature scene.
In the sixth panel appears a young woman wearing a black dress white laced on its cuffs and neck and a blond lace mantilla. Her hands are crossed over her breast. Mr. Romero de Torres wants to represent "The Religious Cordoba". As a background, there is a fanciful composition in the Plaza de los Dolores with the Capuchin church as a background. There is also a nonexistent sepulcher of the Bishop Osio and the Cristo de los Faroles— imaginary represented, without the lanterns. A nun approaches it and there is also three cypresses on the right side, emphasizing the funereal tone of the composition.
Finally, the last panel represents "The Bullfighter Cordoba" symbolized in the bullfighter "Lagartijo". The model wears in a loosely way a red shawl in which a wealthy golden trimmed of her dress can be appreciated. She is holding a red carnation. As a background, it is chosen deliberately the "Plaza de la Corredera" due to this square served for bullfighting events. The Manila shawls are hanging of the balconies as it was a bull ring. In the middle of the composition, there is the unreal statue of Lagartijo and at the foot of it a bullfighter finish the series of passes and he dedicates the death of this beauty bull to the statue.
The Poem of Córdoba is the expression of seven spiritual and historical periods in Cordoba. In his polyptych, he is proud of the past glories of Cordoba, he evokes this past and remarks its influence in the psychology of the "Córdoba Inhabitants". Romero de Torres shows us everything about his city, painting a centenarian architecture and classic statutes to lead our thoughts through different ages.