By Victor Rames
The ladies worshiped Caraffa (Part One)
In various news items, photos and mentions of Caraffa in the weekly, it can be seen that it was always the ladies and ladies of Córdoba who entertained or showed gratitude to the teacher. It is not surprising, if one considers that Caraffa’s private academy was the precursor of what would become the “School of painting, copy of life” in Córdoba, founded in 1896 and dependent on the Ministry of Public Instruction, under his direction; and that both privately and officially, the classes were taught to young ladies from Córdoba. In fact, in the founding decree of the first provincial training institution, it was specified, in its article 5, that “in the Painting School, free education will be given to fifteen young ladies who will be designated by the Ministry.” It was undoubtedly a clause pointed out by Caraffa, referring to the large group of young women from Córdoba “from society”, who studied with him and whom the teacher wanted to keep as disciples in the brand new institution.
The academy intended to “foster, in the way that is currently possible, a love for the study of painting,” and one can read in the Cordoban newspaper La Patria, in June 1896, the names of the young women who were chosen to the first cohort: “The Ministry has granted entry to the drawing and painting school recently established in this city to the ladies María Bouquet, Martina Ortiz Herrera, Remigia Gutiérrez, Mercedes Crespo, Felisa Vivanco, Carmen Cebreiro, Josefina T. Cabrera, Delia Carreras, Trinidad Oliva, Gabina Robles, Tránsito Echenique, Angela Allio, Mercedes Ferrer and María Elena Gigena. “With these students, the new painting school will be installed and will open its classes this month.”
The female presence in Córdoba’s painting classes was not a new fact at the end of the nineteenth century. In his book Córdoba, published in 1898, José Manuel Eizaguire stated:
“I have told you on another occasion that Córdoba has beautiful social elements, and I am going to expand my information to you now.
Music and painting are greatly cultivated, and it is rare to find a girl who does not play the piano, violin, cello, harp, etc., etc. The Academy of Santa Cecilia has already produced very distinguished female teachers.
There is also a Painting Academy, directed by the painter Emilio Caraffa, and many girls attend it, some of them very distinguished amateurs.”
This relative prominence of women was reflected in the first exhibition of paintings held in a cultural space in Córdoba, the same year as the creation of the school directed by Caraffa. The chronicler of the newspaper La Patria in May 1896 gave a preliminary overview of the exhibition at the Ateneo, which earned him praise. He highlighted among the material on display about twenty paintings by established artists such as Genaro Pérez, André Piñero, Herminio Malvino and others, and indicated that the bulk of the works on display included nearly two hundred paintings by students and amateurs, mostly society women. . The gender control device is clearly evident in the exhibition, whose route led to a sign that read: “Amateurs.”
Before continuing to bring the lens closer to the panorama of the end of the century, we can jump forward eight years, when in November 1904 Caras y Caretas brought news that allows us to perceive that the gesture of the first exhibition was already part of the anniversary. Cordoban culture. The title of the note was “Córdoba – Exhibition of paintings.” Caraffa was at the forefront of the initiative, and the ladies of Córdoba were preparing to dedicate to the master that old type of tribute called “demonstration.” The reference allows us to make the link with the reference weekly.
“The exhibition of paintings by well-known artists, organized under the direction of the painter Mr. Emilio Caraffa, has been held with brilliant success in Córdoba.
The A. Sappia y Hermanos hall, which was the location chosen for the exhibition, was favored by the extraordinary attendance of families from Córdoba society during the days that it was open.
The artistic success was unbeatable, worthy of the cultured city that encouraged it.
Mr. Caraffa has been very congratulated and a group of ladies is preparing a demonstration in his honor, celebrating the triumphs of his brush, in the event in question, of which he has also been a very effective factor, due to the good artistic taste with which he proceeded to organizing and directing the events of the exhibition is due to the brilliance it has achieved.
This artist has also obtained, as is known, other successes that have accredited his signature, one of these being the reward that the jury of the Saint Louis exhibition granted him.”
The final reference of the note cites the Silver Medal obtained by Emilio Caraffa at the Universal Exposition of Saint Louis, held from April 30 to December 1, 1904, in which artists from sixty countries participated. His work El Obispo, a watercolor, showed the painter’s mastery in that technique in which he had trained in Madrid.
In relation to the ladies who paid tribute to Caraffa, surely not all of them were his students, but that core was key to positioning himself among the class that made the decisions. It must be remembered that the teacher was neither born nor trained in Córdoba. The expert on the life and work of Emilio Caraffa, Tomás Exequiel Bondone, states when analyzing Caraffa’s great achievement: converting his private academy into a state-dependent school: “Only five years after staying in Córdoba, Caraffa managed to make his academy is transformed into a public institution, in a careful maneuver of building relationships and extending social ties. The female presence seems to be decisive in this circumstance since, after the mediation of one of his students, who was the sister-in-law of the then governor Figueroa Alcorta, contact was made with the president.
