--Annelette Hamming
--English translation: Peter J.
Field
--Transparent, nearly always swollen
little faces with generous double chins. Dark eyes that show
little or no emotion. Self-satisfied little mouths; ringlets;
perfect outfits. Such are the children’s portraits by
the Spanish painter, Juan Béjar (1946). But they are
not real portraits; not replicas of real people but metaphors.
--Béjar,
just like Pablo Picasso, was born in Málaga; but whereas
Picasso moved to Paris at an early age never to return, Béjar
is to this day a man of Málaga. He is a highly-reputed
artist in his country of birth. In Spain there is a waiting-list
for his work, which makes Béjar proud but at the same
time stressed. His production is limited on account of the immense
amount of work put into each painting.
--His
“children” nearly always look straight to the front,
unmoved. They appear to be staring at us, and at the same time
their gaze transfixes us. At times they seem to be inexpressive,
staring dolls; their ageing heads are far from infantile. They
stand rigid and static or sit with their little legs before
them, attired in elegant outfits like adults in miniature. They
bring to mind the Infanta Margarita of “Las Meninas”
(1656) by the famous Spanish painter, Velázquez.
--It
is curious that Béjar’s children should have blond,
almost golden hair like the young Margarita ... a technical
detail by which the painter obtains a full contrast of loveliness.
If you draw close to the painting you see in the hair Celtic
or Moorish motifs that intensify its vividness.
--But
there is more. At the same time these figures have a certain
kinship with the female dwarf to the right of Margarita. At
the Spanish court these “dwarfs” were very popular.
They were adopted as curiosities. The “jester” appearance
of Béjar’s figures is accentuated by a multitude
of little bows and decorations. These external adornments are
of a perfection that contrasts with their bearers’ lack
of emotion. Although they have toys such as a hoop, a skipping-rope
or a building-box, they give no sign of knowing how to use them.
--Play requires fantasy, spontaneity, creativity.
--Their
rigidity arouses compassion. (We all know how rebellious a stubborn
child can be.) Some of them have an air of sadness in their
eyes. Mostly they are arrogant, mocking or defiant. These Spanish
“children” are spine-chilling!
--After
a while alone with these paintings in the studio I need to get
out and away from their lost gazes. Are they demanding something
of me or scolding me for some reason?
--In
no way are they happy children. Innocence forms no part of their
lives. They do protest, because they ask concrete things (like
children they are young and innocent). These paintings fascinate.
Their maddening and magic elements confuse us. Juan Béjar
describes his work as “poisoned sweets”; at first
glance they attract, but whoever tries them soon realizes their
real nature.
--This
62-year-old painter is a modest, extremely pleasant person.
In the peace of his small studio he works unresting on his marvellous
creations, which he defines as a Spanish version of magical
realism blended with a touch of naïvety.
--Béjar
is obsessed with detail. He pays the closest attention to a
tiny pearl ear-ring, a little bow, a satin ribbon around a chubby
little waist, a small lace-frill around the neck or the wrinkles
on the brows of dogs or cats. With the same dedication to detail
he executes the background of the painting; at times a garden,
architecture or a landscape. In recent years his landscapes
have become more and more plastic, rather in the manner of an
impressionist.
--His
work is very elaborate; it seems aged, as if worn by time. Layer
upon layer in “faded” earth-tones, flecked with
clear or intense accents. Symmetry plays an important rôle
in his compositions. It is his way of expressing order, since
under the semblance of tranquillity there springs passion.
--We
perceive the muffled resonance of Luchino Visconti’s films,
in which moral decadence and the class-struggle is repeated,
often against a backdrop of social criticism. The word that
prevails when we see his work is, “decadence”, according
to the dictionary: “very refined and devoid of expressive
force”. It is a sensation that is valid for many of Béjar’s
figures.
--When
we closely observe certain details they seem to create a symbolism.
Our forebears – particularly those of the 17th century
– were taught to recognize and interpret these references,
which often have a moralizing nature. Early-ripening cherries
in a small hand are cherries that from ancient times announce
springtime and are also “celestial”: in heaven it
is always springtime. In the art of painting the cherry is known
as “the fruit of paradise” and symbolizes a sure
reward for a virtuous life.
--In his paintings orange-trees
appear very often; for Spaniards they have for centuries symbolized
luck and satisfaction (at weddings orange-blossom is an important
component of the bride’s bouquet). What is more, the orange-tree
symbolizes the tree of good and evil. It is a persistent element
in the symbols that Béjar repeats and that often have
a double meaning. Thus the frog symbolizes both wealth and long
life and worldly pleasures and even sin; and winged creatures
which at first glance seem to be butterflies but on closer examination
turn out to be wasps (symbols of evil thoughts and feelings).
A dog symbolizes loyalty (but may bite), a cat is associated
with the moon and may symbolize both wickedness and fertility.
--A
child has a bird attached to a string; in days gone by a relatively
common practice when caring for it as a domestic animal or playmate,
but nowadays quite unthinkable and unacceptable; or it is a
bird flying away, symbolizing the soul departing the body bound
for heaven, but it is restrained to prevent escape (tied to
the Earth). Virtually the child is toying with death.
--In
the background of an apparently innocent portrait there may
suddenly appear a snake slithering in a tree or a distant house
that is almost certainly haunted. It is the magical element,
the fable, that gives Béjar’s paintings an intriguing
atmosphere and the feeling that something is about to happen.
--The
sources of light produce a surrealist sensation. The light that
illuminates a person falls differently from moonlight, which
illuminates the whole scene and throws strange shadows. The
shadows have a life of their own. The more you observe, the
greater the alienation.
--In
this world, which at first sight appears absolutely safe and
convincing, Juan Béjar asks questions of himself. He
creates doubts and confusion where silence seems to rebel. It
is a complicated but fascinating world that provokes concern
and disquiet. His paintings represent a mournful tribute to
the private life of his subjects, sweet and poisoned at the
same time. Which is as if the artist were trying to recover
what is lost, like Marcel Proust in “À la recherche
du temps perdu”, where the main character talks of his
life and memories: his parents and love but also snobbery in
fin-de-siècle French society. Béjar’s memories
are not always personal either; at times they are memories of
a bygone Spain. The Spain of the feudal system with a rigid
Catholic hierarchy and frequent contradictions that continue
to this day. Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) in his famous “Don
Quijote de la Mancha” (1605) describes the life of a noble
knight and his fat, lazy squire, symbolizing idealism as opposed
to materialism Béjar’s children show us similar
contradictions. His children, aristocrats, are the “disinherited”
of history, excluded and eliminated. With their pale, almost
transparent faces they bare to us the state of their souls.
Their lovely clothes are but tinsel, like the emperor’s
new clothes: when all is said and done they are naked figures,
although they seem unaware of it. --It may seem comical, but
reflects tragedy, bitterness and sadness.
--The
desire to get away from these penetrating paintings goes hand
in hand with the sorrow of parting from them. It is hard to
leave them behind. And you will never entirely forget them.
The apparent tranquillity they irradiate cannot be detached
from a feeling of disquiet and alienation. The contradictions
are linked to an undefined environment; a world in which significance
is sought; a world in which each person comes face to face with
his own forms of anguish.