Definitive shelving of an offer and feeling of strangeness due to the reaction. The mayor of Córdoba, José María Bellido, insisted this Monday in rejecting the presence of six paintings by Julio Romero de Torres belonging to a private collector and that he had offered them so that they could be seen in the exhibitions on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the painter’s birth, and he did so with words that diminished the novelty of these works and also with a criticism of the role of the PSOE.
Meanwhile, both the collector and the main opposition group showed their surprise at both the substance and the form of the demonstrations, in which Bellido doubted the real intentions of the owner.
Blas Garcia He expressed surprise at the mayor’s remarks and rejected his interpretation. “I was quite surprised by his statements, because I do not claim that the City Hall is at the mercy of anything, as he said,” he said.
He was also struck by the idea that he intends to ensure that the work have more value to be exposed to you. “The only thing I wanted was to offer the job. If they don’t want it, they stay with me, I continue to enjoy it and that’s it,” he stressed.
In a way, Blas García feels like he is in the middle of a political fight between the municipal government and the main opposition party, and that is something he never wanted. “Since it was done by Antonio Hurtado, who I don’t even know, it seems like they are trying to make a profit and that is why they did not take it very well,” he insisted.
On the contrary, he did it completely. disinterestedwithout gaining anything. “We collectors are always very reluctant to lend the works, even if we make them, because they may suffer accidents, friction or minor damage.
“I just wanted to offer the works, because they are made to be seen. If they don’t want them, they stay at home,” explains the owner.
This must be balanced against the benefit produced by its temporary public exhibition“because these are works that must be seen and it is good that they have the greatest possible relevance.” According to the collector, this benefits the artist and his work “and constitutes a responsibility“, that is why whenever they asked for them, he gave them to them. There are no secondary interests.
He also recalled his interest: “Some did not belong to the catalog of the Julio Romero de Torres archives and not all are known.” He also has the approval of Mercedes Valverdeformer director of the Municipal Museums and the world’s greatest expert on the work of the Cordovan painter, who did not even know any of these works, so they would be worthy of interest.
This is the case of ‘Sulamite’ or ‘Portrait of Adela Carbone’, rarely seen in Spain and which would provide a source for examining works that help to complete what is known about Julio Romero de Torres and to analyze his style.
He also expanded on the criticisms addressed to the City Council through a second email on how to celebrate the 150th anniversary in “dialogue” with the work of other authors and not put that of Julio Romero de Torres in the foreground.
The municipal spokesman of the PSOE also spoke on the subject, Antonio Hurtadowho considers that the words of José María Bellido “are a contempt to the collector, but also to the work of Julio Romero de Torres. His offer had been “altruistic and free” and he had brought with him works that had barely been exhibited, which would have been a discovery for art lovers and for all the people of Cordoba.
“It is a disregard for the collector, who made a free offer, and for the work of Julio Romero de Torres,” Hurtado denounces.
According to him, it would have been an opportunity “to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Julio Romero de Torres with the best that can be offered to the world.” “For me, it is incomprehensible and denotes an attitude of a certain pride“arrogance and arrogance,” he summed up, then assured that he should have thanked the offer and at least responded to the letter by email.
“If it were up to me, I would never reject an offer of this type,” said Antonio Hurtado, who assured that the absolute majority obtained by José María Bellido in the last municipal elections gives him a different attitude from that of the opposition. thought the leader. It would not happen. He ended up criticizing his words that these paintings were “a debate of low level“What he has is a low level,” said the socialist spokesman.
