In the unstoppable progress of our species towards…towards…well, wherever we go, humans are acquiring a variety of almost innumerable skills, which I am pleased about, as it could not be otherwise. Today there are countless people in the world who, for example, understand the intricacies of history, even if they do not distinguish the elements that define a society; they give their opinion, without hesitation, on archaeology and even dare to make datings and cultural assignments, even if they do not identify a tegula; they venture proposals on the study, conservation and enhancement of heritage, intuitively, without the mediation of the slightest knowledge of the subject; they defend, from the security of their postulates, museological and museographic methodologies and decisions, museum what?; they allow themselves to analyze, interpret and even become art specialists, covering any type of expression and any period or style, roughly speaking; Surprisingly, they even dare to carry out rehabilitations, restitutions and restorations of the works.
A prodigy, since, moreover, we also show an increasing degree of improvement in our creative abilities, managing to carry out, with the confidence that comes from failing in self-criticism or failing in fear of failure, various artistic disciplines, such as painting or sculpture. Or inventing jokes as witty as the one that is the title of this article.
That the artistic heritage of the Spanish Church is also immeasurable is beyond doubt, just as it is possible to assume that its maintenance is immeasurable, so that frequently the cleaning, repair or restoration of the splendour of frescoes, altarpieces, cornices, carvings, paintings, etc. worn by the years, is left in the hands of any of these seasoned specimens of sapiens. From daring pious women to professionals of the broad brush -whose life and work situations are entirely respectable- undertake works that are revolutionising sacred art.
Ecce Homo. Sanctuary of Mercy (Borja, Zaragoza). Elias Garcia Martinez 19th century Altarpiece of Pentecost. Church of San Francisco (Jerez, Cadiz)
Attributed to Juan Bautista Vázquez, second half of the 16th century
First, the Ecce Homo in Borja was known, and a few days ago, the altarpiece in Jerez attributed to Juan Bautista Vázquez, but there are many more cases in which Catholic churches have increased their treasures with these, let’s call them, personal and innovative actions on their assets. In many cases, success is assured, because the species also likes to enjoy its achievements and thousands of people have gone to see the reinterpretation of the suffering Christ located in a monastery in Zaragoza, the San Jorge in Estella, the virgins with children in different parts of Asturias, etc., giving rise to a new type of tourism that is difficult to categorize, halfway between the love of art and the desire to have a laugh.
To argue that certain actions require mastery of a series of academic content, that it requires the handling of scientific information or that it requires the mastery of certain skills, could be something obvious, but we already know: who puts limits on the spirit?
Cherub from the cornices of the church of Mirón (Soria) 18th century Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus (Tineo, Asturias) 15th century
To expect that these tasks should be entrusted to art historians, archaeologists, restorers, heritage and cultural managers, museologists, museographers, archivists, historians, etc. is something that is not in the minds of the ecclesiastical hierarchies. But it is not in the minds of the public administrations either, since the scarcity, if not the non-existence, of these professionals in their organisational charts is alarming. There is a kind of pre-established idea that suggests that the performance of these competencies can be undertaken by anyone and that, furthermore, they are areas of knowledge that are totally dispensable, because it is argued that they do not generate wealth. This is understood from an exclusively mercantilist perspective, of immediate economic benefit and a profitability based on parameters measurable by means of figures. It is difficult to expect the country’s largest landowner to maintain its holdings using the rigor and science that deals with heritage in all its forms, when the State itself and official entities neglect it.
In the meantime, let’s keep making fun of how the angels on a cornice have turned out after having given them a coat of Titanlux, having used Plastidecor paints, or having abused Kanfort. Let’s hope that this trend, between intrusion and contempt, never extends to other specialties, such as medicine.
Opening image: Figure of Saint George (Estella, Navarre). 16th century
