This repertoire is made of an important number of engravings from the first representations of Galician inhabitants from the 16th century until 1900. It shows images of Galician common folk and those of higer classes who can be recognized mainly by their attire. All of
them present the vision of well-known artists (not only from Spain but also from England, France, Italy and Germany) had of Galicia and its people. In addition, we can also mention the indisputable, though sometimes forgotten, work of the engraver who completes the first image of an artist using different techniques.
From the second half of the 16th century onwards, a large number of authors had the codex Trachtenbuch von Spanien de Cristoph Weiditz (Strasbourg, 1529) as reference for the production of printed books about gowns. This work was the result of a trip Weiditz made to Carlos V’s imperial court in Spain. It
is now at the Germanisches National Museum and is made up of a hundred and fifty four ink drawings and painted in watercolour and tempera. In some cases, they have gold and silver appliqués on threaded paper and cotton. There is a very representative image in it: “Mujer de Galicia yendo al corro de las hilanderas”.
It is not until 1562 that François Deserps publishes Recueil de la Diversité des Habits…, in París. It is the first printed book on gowns which was conceived and published as such. Starting with this work, which includes the first representation of a Galician, the “La femme de Compostelle”
woodcut by Richard Breton, the collection
goes on to contain other important illustrations by editors like Ferdinando Bertelli (Venice, 1563) or Tiziano and Cesare Vecellio (Venice, 1590), whose images were engraved by Christoforo Guerra in Damián Zenaro’s printing house. Later, in 1598, a second edition is published in Bernardo Sessa’s company.
Surprisingly, there is a lack of publications of books on gowns in the 17th century and we have to wait until 1777 to find the great Colección de trages de España
by Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla. In 1794, Colección de trages que usaron todas las naciones…, is printed at the Calcografía Nacional. It is a reprint of Vecellio’s work, which incluyes two images of Galician people, engraved by José Camarón.
In this collection, the 19th century is the most prolific one in defining the Galician style. Names like Rodríguez-Martí Mora, Giscard, Havell, Adam, Pigal, White, Langlumé, Carrafa, Ribelles y Helip, Becquet, Sinuett, Galofré, Alenza, Ortega, Trichon, Giménez, Vilaplana, Gaite, Nanteuil, Meléndez, Masí, Cibera, Ricord, Gil Rey, Múgica, Cuevas,
Ollman, Urrabieta, Sierra, Díaz Carreño, Pujadas, Jover, Pradilla, Vela, Balaca, Doré, Prunaire, Fournier, Xumetra, Schmitt, Jaspe, Penoso, Apeles Mestres, Fusté, Lauder, Miranda, Manchón, Domínguez Bécquer, Duverger, Clerman, Alcázar, Galán, Gillot, D. J. Marie, Tiberio Ávila or Bradford, amongst others. We should not forget Federico Guisasola y Lasala, who was able to depict those characters from 19th century Galicia in a unique way and drawn with a special talent; some of them are included in his work Menestra de tipos populares de Galicia.
T. HAVELL (LONDRES, ca. 1830)
