Page 30 - Studio International - August 1965

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truly great tragedy-first expressed by the Jewish poet
Bialik in his great poem on the 'pogroms' in czarist
Russia (which Jardiel has read and reread). and then
expressed to an even greater degree in Jardiel's
paintings, and particularly in his drawings.
Being a Spaniard, Jardiel sees the drama of those
happenings, and having some Jewish blood, he feels
their tragedy. These tortured. burned and shrouded
shapes have lost any semblance of humanity, any
dignity that should exist in death. They are flotsam,
enclosed by mysterious walls and partitions, in inde­
finite space. At the same time, they are great tragic
figures, raising mutilated arms in warning; faceless,
silently screaming symbols of the cruel era of 'pogroms·,
of Auschwitz and Belsen, of Hiroshima.
The exhibition of Jardiel's drawings in Madrid was
not only a major artistic event, but also an important
turning point in the artist's career, as there can be no
doubt that he has now become one of the best con­
temporary artists of Spain.

Jose Jardiel
1 Drawing
2 Drawing
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