39 - Spanish school of the second half of the 20th century.

Spanish school of the second half of the 20th century. "The payment of the harvest". Hand-embroidered tapestry. With golden frame. Measurements: 51 x 71 cm; 68 x 89 cm (frame). This work is framed within the Andalusian costumbrismo of the 19th century, showing the moment of the payment after the harvest. The new 19th century costumbrismo painting was born as a way of interpreting a growing sense of national consciousness, now present in the middle class as it moved towards social hegemony. To a certain extent, the painters' concern was to deepen the vision of their country through a language, that of painting, that everyone could understand, thus helping the common people to understand the nature and meaning of their nationality, especially as it had manifested itself in the recent past, still alive in the memory of the elders. Of the two fundamental costumbrista schools of 19th century Spain, the one from Seville and the one from Madrid, the latter differs from the kindly picturesqueness of the former in its more pungent and harsh vision, sometimes going so far as to show not only the vulgar, but even recreating itself in torn visions of a clichéd world of the slums, in which the spirit of criticism is evident.