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Organised by
Partnership for the Bicentenary Commemoration of the
1812 Constitution
Pablo Iglesias Foundation
Sociedad Estatal de Conmemoraciones Culturales
With cooperation from
Universitat de València
Executive production:
Pablo Iglesias Foundation
Curators:
Emilio La Parra
María José Millán
Technical coordination:
Óscar Martín (Pablo Iglesias Foundation)
Universitat de València coordination:
Norberto Piqueras
SECC coordination:
Manuel Mortari
Overwiew
On the occassion of the 200th anniversary of
the 1812 Constitution, the Sociedad Estatal de
Conmemoraciones Culturales (SECC), under
coordination by the Ministry of Culture, the Pablo
Iglesias Foundation and the Consorcio para la
Conmemoración del Bicentenario de la Constitución de
1812 have jointly organised, with collaboration by
Universitat de València, the exhibition
Citizens. The onset of politics in Spain, 1808-1868,
which recreates the birth of modern politics in Spain
rigorously but without a dissemination aim.
Emilio La Parra
and María José Millán are the exhibition
curators. The show includes more than 200 pieces from
different backgrounds and with diverse significance:
prints, manuscripts, illustrations, pictures,
sculptures, furniture and fittings, newspapers, medals,
etc. reflect a period in which new ideas emerged within
a national framework that started to question
institutional, legal and ideological power forms and the
fact that these were not immutable or sacred (as
conceived by the Ancient Regime) but based on the
principle of national sovereignty. Therefore, such forms
could be queried and power legitimately conquered.
The onset of modern politics -the outcome of the
revolution-counterrevolution dialectics imposed in Spain
(and Europe) during the first half of the 19th
century- results from a way of conceiving society based
on the individual. As a consequence, social ties
–structured in the Ancient Regime around the group a
person belonged to- became associative relationships
voluntarily established by people. New sociability forms
so appeared, their legitimacy not arising from custom
but from the individuals’ free will.
Exhibition script:
Divided into five sections, the exhibition itinerary
allows visitors to chronologically see the evolution of
Spanish politics between
1808 and 1868 and, at the same time, to get to know the
main players of the political process, the appearance of
a new political terminology, new venues and ways of
spreading politics, the new politically active sectors
of the population, and the tools of development of the
new politics:
1) Introduction
The first exhibition section presents a chronology of
Spain's political evolution between 1808 and 1868 as
well as an explanation of the modern politics concept.
2) The national sovereignty principle
This section shows the power vacuum (vacatio regis)
caused by the King's leaving Spain in 1808 and the
Abdications of Bayonne, together with the political
discussions that took place afterwards, which brought
out the required conditions for the emergence of modern
politics in Spain. The power shift towards institutions
that emerged as a result of popular uprisings was
paralleled by the people's feeling that sovereignty was
in their hands, this being formalised by the Cádiz
Cortes and most fundamentally by the Constitution of
1812. In this way, broad sectors of the population
underwent a process of politisation, and the way
politics was understood changed radically. New concepts
appeared at the time (1808-1813), like nation, national
sovereignty, constitution, representation, public
opinion. It was also the beginning of the first
independence movements in America.
Different prints are exhibited in this section, together
with other materials such as coins and documents. They
illustrate the ideological debate raised by the
so-called “Patriots” and the “Francophiles”. The section
devoted to the first liberal period includes an
outstanding painting by Ramón Rodríguez Barcaza, La
Junta de Cádiz en 1810,
a period version by the author of the large painting at
the Museum of Cádiz; the sketch of the painting
Juramento de los Diputados a Cortes en 1812, at the
Spanish parliament, by Casado del Alisal, is also
noteworthy; and the same applies to La proclamación
de la Constitución de Cádiz in 1812, by
Salvador Viniegra, lent by the Council of Cádiz. The
latter piece –also a sketch for a painting at Museo
del Prado currently under restoration- shows us a
different version of the same topic, as it does not
exactly match the final painting. Among the objects is a
silver inkstand used in the signing of the Cádiz
Constitution and a coffee set with motifs alluding to La
Pepa -as the constitution was popularly known- which was
changed a few times to be able to use it under different
political circumstances. The section finishes with the
painting by Miguel Parra Entrada triunfal de Fernando
VII en Valencia, borrowed from the Royal Palace.
3) The places and forms of sociability
The third exhibition section shows us how liberalism
built a number of forms and places intended for the
dissemination of ideas, what we know as “the spaces of
sociability”, where individuals met on a voluntary basis
to talk to each other, discuss and circulate a
rationale, express their complaints, defend group
interests, and organise themselves into collectives,
etc. These were therefore meeting points for
communication and for the advertising of individual
thoughts either orally or in writing.
These places were initially the spaces of the
bourgeoisie or the middle classes but, over time,
popular classes took over this system and by the end of
the 19th century association became one of
the main aspirations of the working class. The spaces of
sociability are a clear example of the public nature of
political life: politics did not take place at the
palace -the court sphere- but in places open to people's
participation.
The following artists from this section are noteworthy:
Leonardo Alenza (El café de Santa Catalina
–History Museum of Madrid-, Una lectura en el café
Levante - Lázaro Galdiano Foundation-), a painting
on tin by Ricardo Balaca and Orejas Canseco El café
-Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao-, the canvas by Antonio
Pérez Rubio La partida de cartas - Lázaro
Galdiano-, Rafael Botella y Coloma and his El jardín
público llamado El Paraíso -History Museum of
Madrid-, La feria de Sevilla by Manuel Rodríguez
Guzmán –Royal Palace- or El charlatán político,
Prado Museum. From the documents, the statutes and the
minutes of Ateneo de Madrid –exhibited for the
first time- stand out, together with a selection of
plays and music of the time, and a section with
newspapers; apart from the most important headlines we
can also see a press and the types boxes used by
Imprenta Artesanal de Madrid.
This section also includes a café, reproduced from
prints of the period and literary descriptions by
Mariano José de Larra, Mesonero Romanos and Benito Pérez
Galdós, inter alia. Collector items and pieces from the
Clothing Museum take visitors back to 19th
century literary gatherings. Likewise, this area
includes recordings of popular songs used at the time as
instruments for political mobilisation. |
