Helena Almeida: 'Seduzir' [To Seduce, 2002] (detail)

Collection

Alfombra [Rug]

Image caption
GENERAL FRANCO FOUNDATION – ASSOCIATED ARTISTIC INDUSTRIES

Alfombra [Rug]

  • 1942-1984
  • Fabric with single or Spanish knots
  • 268 x 369,5 cm
  • Cat. A_179
  • Observations: Warp: linen. Weft: linen. Knot: wool. Weaving density: 26 knots/dm
By:
Antonio Sama

A magnificent example of a renewed interest in the history of Spanish rug making in the mid-20th century and the desire to revive the industry that arose among certain cultural organisations of the time. As evidenced by the labels sewn onto the back of the fabric and the embroidered signature, this rug was woven at the Fundación Generalísimo Franco ['General Franco Foundation'].

It has a repetitive pattern inspired by Renaissance-period brocades or wrought leather wall coverings, which were produced in great numbers by Spanish workshops (especially in Alcaraz) during the 16th and 17th centuries. The basic element of the design is the pomegranate or artichoke in bloom, arranged in four columns or swathes with two different forms of decoration: in one column the central motif takes an orbicular form (leaning towards the pentagonal) made up of thick stalks, while in the next, only the top part of the shape appears, so that the artichoke motif mostly stands out directly against the background. In the first combination the main bud or fruit is set off by secondary buds that seem to grow as offshoots on each side of the pentagon. This defines and visually accentuates the difference between one swathe and the next (one ornamented heavily and the other more lightly, leaving more background visible).

The main border is a classic snake-like pattern with large, opposing rinceaux in which there is more than a hint of a two-headed dragon.

An exploration of the historical origins of this specific type of imitation brocade reveals several examples in collections in Spain and elsewhere that may have served as references for the designers of the rug owned by the Banco de España. There were two in the V. and L. Benguiat Private Collection of Rare Old Rugs in New York, as listed in a sales catalogue published in late 1925. Another is currently in the collection of the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid under inventory number CE01731, and still another once formed part of the Welczeck collection and was featured in its exhibition of old Spanish rugs in 1933, with catalogue number 21. Another was reproduced by Sánchez Ferrer (1986) on his plate LXX, shown as being owned by the Hispanic Society of America in New York. They are all very similar to the rug shown here, but not exactly the same. Those in the National Museum of Decorative Arts and the collection of Count Welczeck have very similar main medallions, but lack the other pomegranate motif. The framing is only partial and the edging is very different. The most similar of all is the rug shown as Nº 15 in the catalogue of the V. and L. Benguiat Collection. The field has only a single swathe, but there are hints of others on both sides, with a design very similar to the secondary motif of the Banco de España rug. The main borders of the two rugs are almost identical.

However, the most surprising thing about Rug Nº 179 is that it appears to be an exact copy not of one of the rugs from the royal works mentioned above but of the illustration on the cover of the catalogue for the exhibition Alfombras antiguas españolas ['Old Spanish Rugs'] published by Asociación de Amigos del Arte and drawn up by José Ferrandis. The rug on the cover does not appear to have featured in the actual exhibition (or at least, there is no mention of it in the catalogue); rather is seems to be an idealised artist's impression of a typical brocade rug from Alcaraz, based on Rug Nº 15 in the catalogue of the V. and L. Benguiat collection. That would mean that it was designed specifically for the front and back covers of a book. Nor is its colour scheme real: it appears to have been designed taking into account the practical requirements of a monochrome print for a book.

The designer of the rug shown here, however, faithfully reproduced the colour scheme on the book cover (an aquamarine pattern on a white background). The art directors at the Fundación Generalísimo Franco would have been familiar with old rugs and probably knew that this was not historically accurate; they were unlikely to have been deceived by black and white illustrations in contemporary publications. They would certainly have been aware of Rug Nº CE01731 at the National Museum of Decorative Arts, and would have known that the designs in series of brocades such as this one were usually dark blue on an orange background (at the time of writing, one is on sale at the Nazmiyal Collection in New York - possibly the same one put up for sale by the V. and L. Benguiat collection in 1925, given that it has the same colour scheme). However, the evidence suggests that contemporary tastes at the time when the rug was woven led to its strictly two-colour design of greenish blue on a light background, which is very different from the bright colours of 16th century rugs.

The weaving uses fine grade Spanish knots (28 x 28 knots/dm2) and the colour shading has the watermarks or bars characteristic of the weaving works at Puerta de Hierro. The labels bear the inscription 'Fundación Generalísimo Franco', indicating that the rug must have been woven between 1941 (when the Foundation was set up) and 1978 (when it was renamed Fundación de Gremios [‘Foundation of Guilds’]).

Antonio Sama

 
By:
Antonio Sama
General Franco Foundation – Associated Artistic Industries
1941 - 1995

The foundation known as Fundación Generalísimo Franco - Industrias Artísticas Agrupadas [‘General Franco Foundation – Associated Artistic Industries’] was created at the behest of the dictator himself. Franco was credited as its founder in its deed of incorporation (dated 7 February 1941). Article 2 of that deed states that the purpose of the Foundation was ‘to set up workshops and factories where industrial art products can be made in keeping with the glorious tradition of Spain, such as fine china and pottery, furnishings and bronzes, glassware and lamps, silk weavings and tapestries, etc., where technicians and manual workers can be given instruction and teaching free of charge at workshops and laboratories in the production of items that improve the state of the art and continue that great Spanish tradition, restoring it to the splendour of centuries past’.

The Foundation's history was complex, given the ambitious nature of its programme to recover arts and crafts and the many difficulties that this entailed. Franco’s original idea seems to have been to emulate the great kings and princes of the past in setting up royal manufactories, with the difference that in this case the project would be implemented via a private foundation. As a result, although the foundation was originally set up under the protection of General Franco as head of state, in practice its viability was continually under threat and it eventually closed down in 1995.

Nonetheless, there were times when it was extremely busy and produced a wide range of splendid decorative art products. In the field of textiles it boasted major facilities for making embroideries and heraldic banners, fabrics, tapestries and knotted rugs (its main source of revenue). In furnishings, it worked in cabinet-making, marquetry, carving, varnishing and gilding. There was also a complete fine china works, a metal-working plant (for bronzes and forgings), and in its early days it even produced stained glass.

At the outset, the Foundation had workshops scattered over a wide area. Its first offices and tapestry looms were actually based at the Royal Palace. Other workshops were set up at different premises while work was completed on its headquarters at El Monte de El Pardo, formerly known as El Cuartel de Somontes ['the Somontes Barracks']. One workshop was based at the home of the foundation's director, Bernardo Suárez Crosa, in Alcalá de Henares. It was there that the earliest work on fabrics and heraldic banners was carried out. Another was at Nº 41 Calle Velázquez, where rug and tapestry looms were set up, along with frames for embroidery and a laboratory to work on porcelain paste. The furniture workshop was housed originally at another private home in Alcalá de Henares, while the chinaware production plant was housed in a refurbished building at Fuentelarreyna (El Pardo).

By 1958 all the workshops and sections were working together at the new purpose-built headquarters of the foundation on a large site at El Monte de El Pardo. As the economic situation worsened parts of this site were sold off, but the so-called 'San Francisco Village' remained intact right up to the end. This was a settlement that Franco commissioned to house the foundation's workforce. In this 'workers' village' and in the wide range of crafts covered, the Fundación Generalísimo Franco was reminiscent of the Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne aux Gobelins, a great manufacturing and residential complex built at the command of Louis XIV of France.

The foundation was run by a large governing board, the first chair of which was Manuel Escrivá de Romaní y de la Quintana, Count of Casal. But it was General Manager Bernardo Suárez Crosa who was the heart, soul and executive arm of the project. There was also an Art Advisory Board, which included several members of the Governing Board along with renowned specialists in decorative arts. The original members were Julio Cavestany Anduaga, Juan Contreras y López de Ayala (Marquess of Lozoya) and José Ferrandis.

The Art Advisory Board seems to have had little clout, as true decision-making power lay with the successive artistic directors placed in charge of output from the workshops. The first of these was Bernardo Suárez Crosa, who held the post from 1941 to 1950. He was followed by José Luis Miranda (Marquess of Miranda) (1958-1972), who in turn was succeeded by painter Galo Brull Lenza (1972-1984). After that time, the role of the artistic director became somewhat less influential.

In late 1962 the foundation's articles of association were changed and it was incorporated into Patrimonio Nacional [the Spanish National Heritage Association], bringing it under the management of the governing board of the latter body. Twenty years later, however, Act 23/1982 of 16 June regulating Patrimonio Nacional excluded the foundation. This left it in an institutional limbo and with problems of financial instability that were to dog it until its eventual closure.

Although Franco died in 1975, it was not until 28 November 1984 that the name of the foundation was officially changed to Fundación de Gremios–Industrias Artísticas Agrupadas [‘Foundation of Guilds – Associated Artistic Industries’]. As the economic crisis of the 1980s deepened, a drastic decision was made in an attempt to raise the revenue needed to keep it afloat: the official headquarters (in what by that time had become a residential neighbourhood in northern Madrid) was sold off and the workshops and offices were moved to new premises on the Fuencarral industrial estate. Even before the move, however, another institutional change took place: on 18 April 1989 the Foundation became a not-for-profit foundation under the name Nueva Fundación de Gremios-Industrias Artísticas Aplicadas [‘New Foundation of Guilds – Associated Artistic Industries’], and from 1991 onwards it was given protected status by the Ministry of Culture.

The foundation moved out of its old building and into the new headquarters on the industrial estate in Fuencarral at the end of 1990. Its financial situation continued to worsen, and after an unsuccessful attempt to merge it with the Real Fábrica de Tapices tapestry works, it eventually closed down on 30 August 1995.

From the outset, the production of knotted rugs was one of the financial mainstays of the Foundation and one of its major identifying traits. Its Spanish-knot-type rugs in particular were highly successful and earned it great prestige. Fostering the production of single-knot rugs was most definitely one of the best ways of making industrial art products 'in keeping with the glorious tradition of Spain', to quote the Foundation's corporate purpose. Particular attention was paid to this production by Suárez Crosa and the Marquess of Miranda, with the invaluable cooperation and advice of the Marquess of Lozoya and José Ferrandis. As a result, its workshops turned out magnificent rugs characterised not only by their technical excellence but also by their artistic quality and their historical accuracy. That accuracy was based on the expertise of the art directors of the Foundation in the essential features of traditional Spanish rug-making.

Antonio Sama