Images from Painting and Postcards that inspired early filmmakers in Spain

La Malagueña y el torero postcard

The Postcards

Early filmmakers who made films in and about Spain used Andalusia as a stand-in for all of Spain, and had three favorite tropes for representing what they considered to be typically Spanish: Flamenco dancers, bullfighters, and bandits. The opera Carmen (and the novel it is based on) perfectly emblematizes these stereotypical archetypes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Seville - Alcazar GardensView of Seville - Alcazar Gardens

 

 

 

Seville, river viewSeville, river view

The Paintings

Here are some paintings and post cards that, given their similarity to the staging in the films, probably influenced early filmmakers filming in Spain. The first is Un baile de gitanos en los jardines del Alcázar, delante del pabellón de Carlos V, painted in 1851 by Alfred Dehodencq :

http://carmenthyssenmalaga.org/en/obra/un-baile-de-gitanos-en-los-jardines-del-alcazar,-delante-del-pabellon-de-carlos-v

Alfred Dehodencq Un baile de gitanos en los jardines del Alcázar, delante del pabellón de Carlos V, 1851

And, by Juan García Ramos, Un baile para el señor cura:

Un baile para el senor curaUn baile para el senor cura