Christian Galvez (Madrid, 1980) just published the book Gioconda decoded: Portrait of Renaissance woman (Aguilar). Considered one of the recognized experts on Leonardo da Vinci in our country., He grants me an interview reminding me that he will be there this Friday 5/4 in Valencia presenting the book at the L'Iber museum. Gálvez combines from 2009 his work on television with the investigation of the great figures of the Renaissance, like Leonardo da Vinci. He has been awarded the Special Prize of the Concha García Campoy Scientific Journalism Awards. He is a member of the Leonardo DNA Project, of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), of the Spanish Association of Museologists and the American Alliance of Museums. GINÉS J. VERA.
The Mona Lisa painting could be said to be one of the most famous in history.. Why do you think this is and what will readers find in it? Gioconda decoded: Portrait of Renaissance woman about this giocondolatry?
Actually, everything we see today about giocondolatry, that is to say, that fascination with the Mona Lisa, reinvented itself in the 19th century, there is an intellectual war, artistic between France and Italy. and this, what is it due to? Well, in the 19th century we remember that it is that of the Resorgimento, Italian unification, and in that sense, Of course, Italians seek that reunification, that national identification, the patriotic heroes, They had Rafael, a Miguel Angel, to Dante, Petrarch, but they don't have Leonardo. Because Leonardo in 1516 He goes to France because in Italy they don't value him enough. So, that kind of war begins, Leonardo is Italian, they say, but France says “but he is buried in France”, and the Italians say: “we have The Last Supper”, and those say: “bueno, and we have La Gioconda”… They get into an intellectual war that, to summarize in the end, that war ends up elevating Leonardo da Vinci to the category of universal genius and the Mona Lisa as a femme fatal., in Leonardo's sublime painting.
There has been much speculation about the model who posed for the painting.. Among the hypotheses, that it could be Leonardo himself taking a feminized self-portrait. Will we be surprised about this when reading his book?
On the one hand I will tell you, can never become a female version of Leonardo since there is a basic error, and it is to compare the Mona Lisa with the supposed self-portrait of Turin. The one that everyone has in mind when we talk about Leonardo. It has already been mentioned that this self-portrait appears for the first time in Turin in 1810 and there is no historical proof, scientific or literary that proves that he is Leonardo. Therefore, If they start from the axiom that this drawing is indeed Leonardo, There is already a basic error and the comparison does not reach any port with rigor and objectivity. Nor is it a book with doctrine, that is to say, what I have asked people, to the auditorium, to potential readers is that there are 5 historical evidence that shows that Leonardo painted this woman. Of those 5 historical evidence, each one, gives a different identity to the model. It does not give any type of conclusion between them, therefore we have 5 different possibilities of knowing who is portrayed in the painting. But this is the most wonderful thing of all, that is to say, no matter who it is, because it continues to generate fascination. and all this, Of course, as a culmination of a story of feminism in the Leonardian universe. We don't have to forget that.
I just wanted to ask you about that., for his research on the famous self-portrait supposedly by Leonardo da Vinci. With the recent research on the Mona Lisa, by revealing the questions and false myths about the painting, How does it feel to appreciate and respect the figure of Leonardo da Vinci so much??
Deep down what I want to do is a little justice, that is to say, It seems that everything that has to do with Leonardo has a mystery, everything absolutely, and I have always defended that Leonardo has far fewer mysteries than people think.. And the few you have are less important than people think. Not everything in Leonardo is a mystery. And if it is, everything in Rafael is mystery, everything in Boticelli is mystery, everything in Michelangelo is mystery. However, I prefer not to remain indebted to the human Leonardo, with Leonardo in the flesh, with the Leonardo who failed again and again, which is the most important part for me, more interesting. In this sense, Maybe the sublimation of the Mona Lisa doesn't matter here, Maybe it doesn't matter who Leonardo represents with the Mona Lisa. What is nice is telling people who Leonardo is., that it is the scientific search for the soul that decides for the first time, or at least, which is one of the first that decides to represent the woman looking directly at the viewer. And that's nice, and that is not counted.
Taking into account the informative nature of this work, added to its extension, close to the 600 pages, What attractions do you think readers will find in it?? Tell us three aspects at least to encourage those who are not very familiar with the art or work of the Florentine master to read it..
First of all, it is a mainstream book., and with this what do I mean? I mean it's not like face to face, that is to say, Anyone who approaches it from an erudite point of view will be satisfied with all the information provided., although there is not an excess of information, Those who approach it for the first time from a layman's point of view will enjoy it because they do not need prior knowledge., So I think it's a pretty safe bet., in that sense, in which it does not demand anything. You can start from a hundred or you can start from zero.
On the other hand I think he will find justice, that is to say, every time we talk about the Renaissance we always get Leonardo, Botticelli, Miguel Angel, Rafael, the Medici…, we always get male names, This is a book that honors women., in its entirety, honors women in the historical period known as the Renaissance, honors women in art history, and honors the feminism that Leonardo da Vinci supports, with which I think it is also doing a little justice with the role of women in this period of men as many consider.
And thirdly, because I think that curiosity is still necessary, Curiosity was Leonardo's main driving force from the time he was born until he died., He never stopped being a child who constantly asked himself why and for what purpose., and I believe that curiosity can give us great joy.
