Sáenz de Tejada: a family with illustration in their DNA

The Museum of La Rioja, in Logroño, an 18th-century palace where General Espartero lived, hosts, from September 28 to December 4, the exhibition ‘Carlos Sáenz de Tejada and Judith Sáenz de Tejada. Two illustrators, the same surname ‘, in which the works of the famous artist are exhibited together with those of his granddaughter. Two different ways of illustrating, but with some winks and connections. An exhibition to which the curators, Enrique Martínez Glera and Teresa Álvarez, have wanted to give a marked didactic character: “In a certain way, teaching and learning, disseminating, is the objective of this show.” Two booklets have been published that will be distributed in Primary and Secondary schools. The curators highlight Carlos Sáenz de Tejada (Tangier, 1897-Madrid, 1958) «his eclectic spirit and his great mastery of the different artistic genres. He was a draftsman, illustrator, publicist, engraver, poster designer, designer, fashion designer, painter, portraitist and decorator of theatrical and interior sets… He worked in all these disciplines and applied his iron rigor to all of them, producing a large number of sketches and studies so that nothing escapes his strict control, and always with an open mind, although his mastery of the art of illustration was particularly special and since he was a child he had a remarkable ability with drawing ». In addition, he “had an extensive knowledge of history.” Martínez Glera, who spent a year soaking up the archive and the personality of the brilliant illustrator, Sorolla’s favorite student, notes that he had a great sense of humor, which his granddaughter has inherited. Literature and engraving There are many books that Sáenz de Tejada illustrated. A facet on which the exhibition places special emphasis. On the one hand, three literary works have been selected: ‘The English Spanish’, by Miguel de Cervantes, where he used etching; ‘The vested interests’, by Jacinto Benavente, for which he used the lithograph; and ‘Platero y yo’, by Juan Ramón Jiménez, in which he opted for gravure and an attempt at engraving and xylography. Also on display is the lithographic poster ‘Ballets espagnols Argentina’, which represents the dancer Antonia Mercé, Argentina, made in 1927 in Paris, as well as two ceramic bullfighters, following her designs. The ABC Museum, which houses more than 900 drawings by Carlos Sáenz de Tejada, of which 775 are of fashion, is collaborating with the project by lending seven works from the ABC Collection, all of them illustrations for stories: drawings for the stories ‘The crushed time ‘, by Agustín de Foxá; ‘The circumspect in the palace’, by Azorín; ‘The black king and the others’, by Ana María Matute; ‘Dios y Pygmalión’, by Ramón Goy de Silva, and three drawings for excerpts from the novel ‘La burla negra’, by José María Castroviejo. Sáenz de Tejada is one of the most prominent proper names in the ABC Collection. In 2011, the ABC Museum claimed in an exhibition his facet as a fashion illustrator through three hundred of his drawings in Paris. A fascinating journey through the luxury, elegance and sophistication of the exquisite work of this graphic correspondent. Starting in 1931, his designs weekly illustrated the pages of ABC and Black and White, which gave a good account of the novelties of the Parisian sewing workshops. ‘The Squirrel’, illustration by Judith Sáenz de Tejada ABC For her part, Judith Sáenz de Tejada (1961) has not stopped reinventing herself. She was going to be a veterinarian, she made forays into the world of tourism (she produced guides), but her DNA was more and she ended up as a restorer of works of art (among many other jobs, the Ministry of Culture commissioned her in 1985 to recover some drawings on twill of his grandfather who cleaned and who put racks) and multifaceted artist. She remembers in a telephone conversation with ABC that already at school she always drew and designed. Some of her time was spent decorating family trees. She loved going through her grandfather’s studio, where she gave painting classes to her aunt Mari Luz, with whom, from the age of 10, she learned the technique. She illustrated stories of cities and towns, but also the story of her own family, marked by a rare disease that her father suffered from. “The same one President Kennedy had,” Judith notes. «My illustrated books are for all ages, real fables in which I use animals, which I humanize. In a certain way, my grandfather also did it in his illustrations for ‘Platero y yo’». Along with a selection of those drawings, the exhibition includes plates from the book ‘The Saturnine Starling in the Land of Wine’, which she writes and illustrates; sketches she made for the 2010 UN calendar on children’s rights, as well as some of her illustrations for fashion and jewelry design. MORE INFORMATION news Yes Modern art settles in the heart of the Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts news No The Prado Museum acknowledges that it has 25 works seized by the Franco regime news Yes Picasso and Julio González: when sculpture was drawn in the space De family of diplomats, French, Arabic and Spanish were spoken at home. Does it weigh a lot to exhibit with her grandfather, such a renowned artist? “It is a huge responsibility . It weighs a lot, especially before the family. As for possible connections between the works of both, apart from the use of animals, he cites the versatility: works for theater, advertising, calendars… He did not get to know his grandfather, but they have told him that, «since he was dyslexic , his way of communicating was drawing. He was obsessed with perfection ». He drew obsessively, even sitting at the table during lunch.