It all commenced in Rodin’s Parisien home during a conversation with his friend, Ignacio Zuloaga. Zuloaga mentioned his intention to travel to Spain in order to procure a painting by El Greco, an artist much admired by Zuloaga. Rodin swiftly replied that he would personally accompany his friend to Spain. 

And with that, Rodin, Zuloaga and Russian art collector, Ivan Shchukin, boarded the Sud Express train in Paris bound for Madrid on 3rd June, 1905.

Madrid, a welcoming homage to Rodin

Rodin’s arrival to Madrid aroused great expectations. The presence in Madrid of the French sculptor, who by then was renowned for works such as The Thinker, intrigued artists, writers and journalists throughout the country.

During those days, Zuloaga showed Rodin the essential sites of Madrid and its surroundings, including the Prado Museum and the towns of El Escorial, Toledo and Illescas.

A grand banquet honouring the French sculptor was held at the Huerta Restaurant on the 8th of June. The feast was attended by some 130 literati of Spain’s cultural world, including Prado Museum director José Villegas, artist José Moreno Carbonero, writer Pío Baroja, playwright Joaquín Dicenta and ceramist Daniel Zuloaga.

Numerous panegyrics were proclaimed paying tribute to Rodin during the celebration. One memorable encomium by journalist Mariano de Cavia concluded:

‘My friends, allow me to raise my glass to Rodin, the man who has encapsulated thinking into stone’.

Road to Toledo: El Greco and a bolt from the blue

One of Zuloaga’s principal aspirations for the trip was to introduce Rodin to the works of El Greco, many of which could be found in Toledo and Illescas. El Greco’s paintings profoundly affected Zuloaga’s understanding of art. Indeed, it was held by Zuloaga that El Greco was a Modernist maestro who had predated the modern era.

Nevertheless, the journey by automobile to Toledo occasioned a memorable fright whilst the entourage was approaching the village of Cerca de Esquivias. The motorcar in which the two artists were travelling inadvertently struck a man mounted on a mule. Rodin was so distraught that he insisted on compensating the injured man with all the money in his wallet - nearly 900 pesetas according to art critic Juan de la Encina.

Once in Toledo, Zuloaga attempted to persuade Rodin of the spiritual vigour of El Greco’s figures, the compositional intensity and his pictorial deftness. Rodin, however, remained resolutely unconvinced. According to Zuloaga’s subsequent memoirs, the sculptor rebuffed his every attempt with a sceptical ‘Pas du tout!’

Rodin was, however, fascinated by other aspects of Spain that included the landscapes of Castile and Andalusia, its vineyards and tavern fare, especially the rye bread known as pan negro.

Rodin’s initiation into Flamenco in Seville

Zuloaga and Rodin continued their journey southward to Seville following the dinner reception in Madrid. The artists sojourned at the Inglaterra Hotel and roamed Seville’s Triana neighbourhood, an epicentre of Flamenco culture.

According to accounts, Rodin was taken aback at a Flamenco performance in Seville. The sculptor was mesmerised by the dancers’ expressiveness and the allure of Andalusian choreography. Jacques Vilain, director of the Rodin Museum in Paris, explained years later that the sculptor felt attracted by the ‘Andalusian rhythms and the graceful buoyancy of the performers’ motions.’

It is unknown whether Rodin was directly inspired by the ardent cadence of those majestic figures in his subsequent art. However, it is easy to imagine how the kinetic dynamism and passion of Flamenco left a profound mark on the sculptor. Ultimately, Rodin’s sculptures expressly sought to capture the tension, the gestures and the inner spirit of the human form.

Córdoba and an El Greco painting

After Seville, the journey continued on to Córdoba, where Zuloaga acquired The Vision of Saint John, one of the most important pieces in Zuloaga’s collection. This particular painting by El Greco’s has also been titled The Opening of the Fifth Seal or The Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse.

El Greco’s painting would later play a very significant role when Zuloaga incorporated the work into his own painting, Mis Amigos, a tribute to the painter he so admired. Zuloaga would subsequently exhibit the painting in his Parisien studio for fellow artists and friends to view, including a young Pablo Picasso, for whom Zuloaga was an influential figure during Picasso’s early years in Paris.

This work of art has been linked to the visual universe that may have influenced Picasso during the creation of his groundbreaking work The Young Ladies of Avignon, a painting that marked a watershed in the history of modern art. As such, the acquisition of this painting during their travels resulted in the threading together of El Greco, Zuloaga, Rodin and Picasso into the same aesthetic tapestry.

A friendship of admiration and disaccord

El Greco was a recurrent topic of debate during the two artists’ tour through Spain. Zuloaga attempted to convince his friend of the Cretan painter’s grandeur, while Rodin resisted his friend’s arguments. Rodin did, however, observe and delight in other aspects of Spain, namely its landscapes, cuisine, viticulture and the vivacity of its taverns and dancers.

According to Zuloaga himself, Rodin began to look at El Greco’s art in a different light as the years passed. The sculptor would often visit the Basque painter’s studio and spend hours contemplating The Vision of Saint John, until one day he commented that the painting was starting to appeal to him.

Perhaps Zuloaga’s Parisien studio marks the final leg of this journey through Castile and Andalusia, where Rodin finally succumbed to Zuloaga’s zeal and started to comprehend what his friend had seen all along.

That lightning excursion highlighted the Spain that fascinated Zuloaga, which he aspired to impart onto his friend, that included the historic cities of Castile and Andalusia, its tavern culture, the sights and sounds of Flamenco and, of course, its grandmaster painters. Spain was the canvas upon which two great artists sketched an unforgettable voyage.

You can also read this article in Spanish and French.

Sources:

ZULOAGA, Ignacio. Carta a Aguste Rodin, 31 de mayo de 1905. París, Musée Rodin, Centre de recherche, Correspondance Rodin.

ZULOAGA, Ignacio. Carta a Auguste Rodin, 12 de agosto de 1905. París: Musée Rodin, Centre de recherche, Correspondance Rodin.

ARRIZABALAGA, Mónica. La desconocida foto del viaje relámpago de Rodin a España. ABC Archivo, 4 de junio de 2020.

MUSÉE RODIN. Exposition Picasso-Rodin. Dossier pédagogique. París: Musée Rodin, 2021.

MUSÉE RODIN. Exposition Picasso-Rodin. Dossier de presse. París: Musée Rodin, 2021.