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Lot Essay
Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the history of nineteenth century painting in Puerto Rico, as art historian Mercedes Trelles Hernández, well states, is that despite the abundance of worthy events—el Grito de Lares (the 1868 pro-independence uprising), the 1873 abolition of slavery, and Spain’s acceptance in 1897 of the Charter of Autonomy which conceded political and administrative autonomy to the island—there are virtually no examples of history paintings1 in contrast to the sheer abundance of such traditional, and perhaps less contentious genres, as landscapes, still lifes, and portraiture. One significant exception however is Manuel Jordan’s iconic Escena de la Guerra Hispanoamericana (1898), significant not only for being the only depiction of this key event by a Puerto Rican artist but for having been painted precisely as the events unfolded in 1898. Yet despite his proximity to the events (Jordán and his teacher Francisco Oller reportedly climbed on top of a fortress wall in San Juan to depict the city’s bombardment by the U.S Navy)2 the painting seems to be less reportage and more about asserting the resilience and beauty of the landscape. Two war ships battle in the distance rather matter-of-factly while a chain of reefs and a small islet in the foreground emerge from the troubled waters seemingly unscathed by the violence in their midst.
This recently discovered work by the Catalán painter Manuel Cuyàs Agulló, El desembarque de los americanos en Ponce (The Landing of the Americans in Ponce) is thus a truly rare depiction of this historical event that would dramatically shift the island’s history in a manner that continues to be felt to the present day. And while the takeover of the island’s capital of San Juan would represent a symbolic victory for the Americans, it was the strategic entry of U.S. naval vessels through Puerto Rico’s southern coast—initially through Guánica on July 25 followed by Ponce on July 273—that forever sealed Puerto Rico’s political fate and undoubtedly marked the defeat of the Spanish.4 Yet, here too as in Jordán’s painting the signs of a naval battle are virtually absent perhaps an indication of the relative ease with which the Spanish would be defeated by the American forces. Indeed as the painting’s title (and descriptive inscription on the lower right) suggests, Cuyàs’s rendering focuses on the immediate days that followed the attack, as the American’s landed, established their presence on the island and prepared to overtake the capital. As naval vessels ominously hover in the harbor, their flags waving in the distance, U.S. ground soldiers direct the movement of provisions, weapons, and man power while a horse drawn wagon from the Red Cross along the lower left of the composition suggests the inevitable human toll brought on by war.
And while little is known about the details of Cuyàs Agulló’s life5, and whether he indeed witnessed these events firsthand, the illustrative quality of his painting suggests that he may have relied on drawings or photographs from the period as source material which he then undoubtedly embellished in this panoramic vista of the Ponce harbor. Notable however is his ability to insert elements that locate his painting within a decidedly Caribbean context—the verdant branches of a ceiba tree peeking out from the lower right corner, the oxen pulled carts, and the ubiquitous plantation workers in their white cotton attire and straw hats. The latter two undoubtedly a reference to Puerto Rico’s sugar cane industry for which the city of Ponce was known during the nineteenth century and which continued to thrive under the new regime. The painting’s anecdotal like qualities certainly possess a greater sense of reportage than Jordan’s approach, yet both artists eschew the drama of war in favor of a seemingly detached perspective. And while Jordán’s composition is much more simplified and privileges the landscape as the protagonist of his painting, Cuyàs Agulló creates a complex vista that seemingly transports the viewer into the scene unfolding in a manner that suggests the influence of panoramic photography. Situated somewhere at the crossroads of illustration, nineteenth century-photographic practices, and the traditional genres of costumbrismo and history painting, Cuyàs Agulló seems to collapse these categories to create a work that is remarkable for its specificity, yet simultaneously epic in keeping with the historical circumstances depicted and their impact henceforth on Puerto Rico’s social, economic, and political destiny.
1 See M. T. Hernández, “Regarding Taste, Reflections on the History of Puerto Rican Painting” in exhibition catalogue Treasures of Puerto Rican Painting (San Juan: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, 2000), 35.
2 See José Francisco Orlando, “Apuntes Biográficos de Manuel E. Jordán, “ in Homenaje a Manuel E. Jordán (1853-1919) (San Juan: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1984), 4.
3 See Maj. Gen. N.A. Miles, et. al, Harper’s Pictorial of the War with Spain (New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1899), 393.
4 Puerto Rico’s southern coast was chosen because it offered the least amount of resistance from Spain’s forces who were largely concentrated in the northern capital of San Juan. While the city of Ponce’s excellent road system with its direct access to San Juan provided a strategic point from where American troops could infiltrate the island and make their way to the capital.
5 Born in Barcelona, Manuel Cuyàs Agulló was active during the mid-nineteenth century in Catalonia as well as Central America and the Caribbean. In addition to being an accomplished painter he was well know as an illustrator and portraitist.
This recently discovered work by the Catalán painter Manuel Cuyàs Agulló, El desembarque de los americanos en Ponce (The Landing of the Americans in Ponce) is thus a truly rare depiction of this historical event that would dramatically shift the island’s history in a manner that continues to be felt to the present day. And while the takeover of the island’s capital of San Juan would represent a symbolic victory for the Americans, it was the strategic entry of U.S. naval vessels through Puerto Rico’s southern coast—initially through Guánica on July 25 followed by Ponce on July 273—that forever sealed Puerto Rico’s political fate and undoubtedly marked the defeat of the Spanish.4 Yet, here too as in Jordán’s painting the signs of a naval battle are virtually absent perhaps an indication of the relative ease with which the Spanish would be defeated by the American forces. Indeed as the painting’s title (and descriptive inscription on the lower right) suggests, Cuyàs’s rendering focuses on the immediate days that followed the attack, as the American’s landed, established their presence on the island and prepared to overtake the capital. As naval vessels ominously hover in the harbor, their flags waving in the distance, U.S. ground soldiers direct the movement of provisions, weapons, and man power while a horse drawn wagon from the Red Cross along the lower left of the composition suggests the inevitable human toll brought on by war.
And while little is known about the details of Cuyàs Agulló’s life5, and whether he indeed witnessed these events firsthand, the illustrative quality of his painting suggests that he may have relied on drawings or photographs from the period as source material which he then undoubtedly embellished in this panoramic vista of the Ponce harbor. Notable however is his ability to insert elements that locate his painting within a decidedly Caribbean context—the verdant branches of a ceiba tree peeking out from the lower right corner, the oxen pulled carts, and the ubiquitous plantation workers in their white cotton attire and straw hats. The latter two undoubtedly a reference to Puerto Rico’s sugar cane industry for which the city of Ponce was known during the nineteenth century and which continued to thrive under the new regime. The painting’s anecdotal like qualities certainly possess a greater sense of reportage than Jordan’s approach, yet both artists eschew the drama of war in favor of a seemingly detached perspective. And while Jordán’s composition is much more simplified and privileges the landscape as the protagonist of his painting, Cuyàs Agulló creates a complex vista that seemingly transports the viewer into the scene unfolding in a manner that suggests the influence of panoramic photography. Situated somewhere at the crossroads of illustration, nineteenth century-photographic practices, and the traditional genres of costumbrismo and history painting, Cuyàs Agulló seems to collapse these categories to create a work that is remarkable for its specificity, yet simultaneously epic in keeping with the historical circumstances depicted and their impact henceforth on Puerto Rico’s social, economic, and political destiny.
1 See M. T. Hernández, “Regarding Taste, Reflections on the History of Puerto Rican Painting” in exhibition catalogue Treasures of Puerto Rican Painting (San Juan: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, 2000), 35.
2 See José Francisco Orlando, “Apuntes Biográficos de Manuel E. Jordán, “ in Homenaje a Manuel E. Jordán (1853-1919) (San Juan: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1984), 4.
3 See Maj. Gen. N.A. Miles, et. al, Harper’s Pictorial of the War with Spain (New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1899), 393.
4 Puerto Rico’s southern coast was chosen because it offered the least amount of resistance from Spain’s forces who were largely concentrated in the northern capital of San Juan. While the city of Ponce’s excellent road system with its direct access to San Juan provided a strategic point from where American troops could infiltrate the island and make their way to the capital.
5 Born in Barcelona, Manuel Cuyàs Agulló was active during the mid-nineteenth century in Catalonia as well as Central America and the Caribbean. In addition to being an accomplished painter he was well know as an illustrator and portraitist.