France-Spain: A love story in times of war

Love is a wayward bird that no one can tame.

And you can call upon her, but it will be in vain, for this is not her way of coming.

Nothing helps, not even prayers...

Love is a gypsy child, it has never known any law,

If you don't love me, I love you, if I love you, be careful!

The Habanera. An aria from the opera “Carmen” by French composer Georges Bizet.

“Carmen,” the Spanish gypsy, the opera’s heroine, was identified with the image of Spain in the eyes of the French in the 19th century. Exotic, seductive, fascinating, exciting, but also dark, threatening, and dangerous.

 Why Spain? What was the secret of its appeal and charm in the eyes of the French? How did Spanish art gain a peak of appreciation after centuries of obscurity, in the cold and distant?

"The “Bloody Spanish Ulcer” Napoleonic Wars in the Iberian Peninsula

Paradoxically, “The Love Story” France – Spain” in the 19th century began a grueling and brutal war.

“That miserable war destroyed me, it divided my forces, doubled my obligations, undermined my morale. All my disasters are connected with the deadly Spanish ulcer” Napoleon Bonaparte In his memoirs….

The Peninsular War was a campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, fought between 1807 and 1814. France fought against Spain and its allies, England and Portugal, for control of the Iberian Peninsula. Napoleon deposed the King of Spain and appointed his older brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. The coronation of a king on behalf of France was met with hostility by the Spanish public, despite Joseph's efforts to endear himself to his subjects and his sincere aspirations to play the role of a constitutional and enlightened king.

A popular uprising against the French broke out on May 2, 1808, and a war quickly developed that took on the character of small-scale, irregular warfare – guerrilla warfare. The harsh measures of repression and the French army's habit of supporting itself with supplies looted from local peasants made the war years particularly brutal.

Over the years, the war continued, refusing to end, and was therefore called the “Spanish Ulcer.” The Peninsular War ended in complete defeat for the French. In 1813, the British, Spanish, and Portuguese armies crossed the Pyrenees into mainland France. Despondent at the dire situation, Napoleon signed an armistice with Spain.

Napoleon was greatly weakened, defeated in subsequent battles, and eventually abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba.

The “Spanish Plague” helped bring down the French Empire!

The brutality of war was depicted by Spanish painter Francisco Goya in a series of 80 etchings. The macabre, poignant series reminds us all that war can bring out the worst in people.

Writers' travels to Spain in the 19th century, a love story

For Europeans in the 19th century, Spain was the gateway to the East: “Spain is half of Africa” (Victor HugoDuring this period, Spain was considered a country different from Europe, semi-oriental, primitive, unstable, mysterious, and perhaps dangerous.

But Spain held a particularly rich heritage. After the Muslims from North Africa invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 711-714, they developed a rich culture that lasted for 700 years. While Europe was plunged into the darkness of ignorance and war, the Muslim Caliphate of Cordoba shone like a beacon of magnificent architecture, literature, and science.

After the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain became a single political entity under Christian rule. The discovery of the Americas by Columbus in 1492 and the Spanish conquests, especially in South America, transformed Spain into a wealthy transatlantic empire. These great days, the "Golden Age", were also characterized by a flourishing of art and literature.

A postcard full of admiration for all the treasures of Spain arrived in the 19th century following the French invasion and the painful war that lasted for many years. During and after the war, the flow of travelers to Spain increased, among them: Théauphile Gautier, Alexandre Dumas, George Sand, Prosper Merimee, Chateaubriand, Victor Hugo….

For the intellectuals of the Romantic generation, Spain was a magical attraction. They described landscapes, Moorish-style palaces and gardens, festivals, bullfights, costumes, castanets, and flamenco dancing as representing the spirit of Spain.

“In addition to the country of birth, every person also has a country that he has adopted for his soul…for me, this country is Spain.” (Theauphile Gautier) In this sentence, the author formulates a fascinating insight: on the map of the human soul, different borders are drawn than political and geographical borders. National and political existence can have one center and another or additional center for its spiritual world.

Prosper Marima traveled to Spain many times. There he spent many hours in the Prado Museum, saw bullfights and studied the architecture of the Moorish buildings in Granada and Seville. In 1830 he met the Duke De Montijo with whom he had many common interests in the fields of literature, history and politics. During a visit to his home he met the Duchess and from her he first heard the story of “Carmen”! During those visits he met the Dukes’ youngest daughter (4 years old) Eugenie, the future wife of Napoleon III!

Yes…there is also a wedding in the France – Spain love story….

""The French Appetite" for Spanish "Golden Age" paintings, a love at first sight story set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars

At a time when “literature and painting were sisters,” the true spirit of Spain was revealed to the French in the works of the giants of Spanish painting who worked in the 17th century and painted in the Baroque style: Diego Velazquez, Jose de Ribera, Francisco de Zurbaran, and Bartolome Esteban Murillo.

Until French Revolution Spanish painting in France was exhibited on rare occasions. During the French Revolution, theLouvre As a museum for the people and not the property of the nobility, it was supposed to serve as a high school for painting. Artists were invited to copy works and learn from the greatest artists. This ideology certainly did not fit with what happened during the Napoleonic Wars: the robbery of hundreds of works of art from the occupied countries. “Works of genius… come to Paris, the capital of the French Republic, the land of freedom, equality and fraternity” (quote from the painter David).

The French conquerors in Spain were aware that behind the walls of churches, monasteries, cathedrals, palaces, and private collections lay valuable art treasures.

Hundreds of works captured by the French conquerors found their way to the Louvre or to the private collections of military personnel. Marshal Soult, commander of the French forces in southern Spain, managed to build and transfer to Paris one of the most important collections of Spanish painting at the time. After 1812 the collection was displayed in his house on the Rue de l'Universite and painters could admire the works of Spanish painters.

At the end of the war in 1815, defeated France was forced to return the paintings found in the Louvre. Marshal Soult's paintings remained in France but after his death his heirs sold them at auction.

The encounter with Spanish artists was short-lived, but it was love at first sight…

"The Spanish Gallery, a love story set against the backdrop of the Battle of Trocadero

The initiative of King Louis Philippe contributed to a deeper acquaintance with the great painters of the Spanish “Golden Age.” In 1838, the Gallery of Spanish Painting opened at the Louvre.

What is the political background behind this initiative? War again, instability...

In 1823, a French army invaded Spain, despite France being economically weakened after the Napoleonic Wars and despite the painful memory of the “Spanish Ulcer”. The aim of the operation was to restore to power the Spanish King Ferdinand VII of the House of Bourbon, who had been deposed by liberal revolutionaries. 7 French soldiers led by the Duke of Angouleme crossed the Pyrenees. A crushing victory for the French forces at the Battle of Trocadero restored the king to power. The revenge and repression were brutal: executions, purges, censorship and the burning of books with content hostile to the regime!

The wars had severe consequences: Spain was mired in debt, industry was ruined, the central government was weak and unstable. The ideas of the French Revolution penetrated Spain and were adopted by Spanish liberals. A period of civil wars between liberals and royalists shook the country's foundations.

European merchants were quick to take advantage of the situation and buy up art treasures at low prices. In addition, due to the abolition of the Inquisition and the abolition of religious orders, works that had belonged to the church appeared on the art sales market.

In 1835, King Louis Philippe sent Baron Taylor to Spain on an “artistic mission.” Within a few years, Taylor managed to build a large collection of Spanish paintings that came to France for the Spanish Gallery in the Louvre.

 The collection included hundreds of masterpieces by Murillo, Ribera, Zurbaran, Velasquez, Goya.

In 1848, King Louis Philippe was deposed and left for England. After his death, his heirs sought to return the collection to the family. The government granted their request, and the collection was transferred to the family and sold at auction.

It is unclear what was considered in the decision to remove masterpieces from the country's borders to England. Baudelaire called the act "stupidity."

From now on, painters who wanted to see Spanish art made a pilgrimage to Madrid to the Prado Museum.

The influence of the great Spanish painters caused a dramatic change in France, where the Neoclassical and Romantic movements dominated the arts. The preferred subjects for painting were historical or mythological events.

We will examine the influence of Spanish painting on the works of Edouard Mane (Edouard Manet), painter considered the father of modern art:

The painting Ecce Homo by the painter Rivera is on a black background and the figure is illuminated and radiant against this background.

And here is a painting by Manet:

The same relationship between dark background and bright colors!

Manet was the last painter to love black, later painting in bright colors under the influence of the Impressionists.

Instead of gradual transitions and a polished finish of paint, Manet paints light and dark spots with free brushwork.

Spanish painting is populated by figures of the common people without idealization.

And here is a painting by Manet:

Manet is influenced by the composition of Spanish scenes, but transfers the setting to modern times.

And here is a painting by Manet:

The influence of Spanish painting waned towards the end of the 19th century and was renewed in the XNUMXth century with Picasso's arrival in Paris.

“Carmen” Bizet’s opera and the twilight of the love story France-Spain, against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune

The opera “Carmen” is based on the novella by Prosper Marima. It is a story of love and passion in which the soldier Don José is tempted to let the gypsy Carmen escape from prison. After José completes his prison sentence for helping Carmen, he joins her and her fellow gypsies who are involved in smuggling. When Carmen falls in love with the bullfighter Escamillo and becomes bored with José, he is struck by a fit of jealousy. Carmen would rather remain free and even die than live with a man she does not love. Don José’s jealousy leads him to murder Carmen.

In the end, Carmen dies… This is no surprise: most opera heroines die: from love (Isolde), from tuberculosis (Mimi, Violetta), from a fit of madness (Lucia de Lamarre), from suicide (Butterfly), from drinking poison (Leonora), from being buried while still alive (Ida)… How fertile the imagination of librettists and composers is when it comes to the death of women… But Carmen: she is murdered by a man on stage! Brutal violence in front of the audience!

Carmen “the femme fatale”, the lady of carnage, ensnares her victim, the innocent man, in the web of her beauty that she spreads at his feet. Carmen is the dark side of feminine beauty!

The premiere of “Carmen” took place at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in March 1875. That evening, “Carmen” suffered a crushing failure. The failure hit the composer to the core. Exactly three months later, he breathed his last, and some claim that the terrible reviews killed not only the opera but also the composer himself.

Why were the critics and the audience so upset?

In the 19th century, Opéra-Comique produced productions with fairly light plots, sweet romantic stories without depth and without social messages. But Bizet changed the rules! He composed an opera about love, jealousy, stormy passions, and explosive emotions. Carmen is a character with a strong character, challenging life and death.

The composer and librettists have taken a significant step towards a “Verismo” opera, an opera set in the real world.

But, this step took place in the wrong place (the Opéra-Comique) and at the wrong time: the year 1875.

The violence on stage reminded the audience of the violence that was their lot in France during their time.

French Emperor Napoleon III initiated a war against Prussia and other German states. The Emperor feared the growing power of the Prussians. But… the Germans had more soldiers, better trained them, better generals. The Prussian-German army used modern technologies (mainly trains and artillery) better than the French. The French army suffered a complete defeat. The losses were very heavy. In the Battle of Saden, 17,000 soldiers were killed and wounded and (along with the Emperor himself) 125,000 soldiers were captured. In 1871, France surrendered. This was the end of the Second Empire.

Revolutionary and socialist circles refused to accept the terms of surrender and accused the government of failing to organize resistance to the Germans. Paris It was declared by the rebels as a “commune” – a socialist government.

The French government, which had moved its seat to Versailles, succeeded in suppressing the rebellion, at the cost of about 30,000 Commune members killed. The majority of the dead were civilians, women and children. Paris was left under military rule for 5 years after the Commune was defeated.

After the war and the “Commune,” the Republic was established. But the French did not like the Republic that had risen from the ashes of a military defeat. Governments rose and fell within a few months as conservatives, republicans, and royalists fought for power.

The audience that came to the opera did not get the moments of peace they were looking for…

Despite the lukewarm reception of “Carmen,” this opera is one of the most beloved and performed to this day.

“Music is wicked, refined and fantastic and at the same time extremely popular” (Friedrich Nietzsche)

And finally…a lion of the bullfighter, the toreador, ending with the article's keyword "love"

“Toreador, get ready! Toreador! Toreador!

But in battle, don't forget

From the top of the stands, black eyes are looking at you,

and offer you love,

Yes, Toreador, love…..”

And speaking of France and Spain…

The talented guitarist Liat Cohen released an album called Paris/Madrid. In the following video you can learn about the fascinating process of creating this album:

If you would like to buy the disc you can do so via This link.