Bartolomé de Cárdenas, alias el Bermejo. He was born in Córdoba ( Spain ) around 1440-45 and died around 1501, possibly in Barcelona .
Rebellious and untamed, he was Judeoconverse. On the origin of his nickname (it is written in many ways: Bermejo, Bermello, Vermeio, Rubeus ...) there are several theories. The most plausible is that the painter had reddish hair. His wife, Gracia de Palaciano, a rich widow, was condemned by the Aragonese Inquisition, accused of Judaizing practices.
The Historians say that Bartolomé was rebellious and untamed, he was a Jewish convert. On the origin of his nickname (it is written in many ways: Bermejo, Bermello, Vermeio, Rubeus ...) there are several theories. The most plausible is that the painter had reddish hair.
But, above all, its sophisticated chromatic range stands out: a superb palette of reds, greens, violets and golds. He was such a success that in some orders he was forced by contract to use those colors. His trick, apply lacquers and transparencies, which increased the sense of depth and brilliance of the color. The result, an impressive visual spectacle. According to the curator, the painting by Bermejo, who drinks from Flemish masters such as Van Eyck, Memling or Van der Weyden, "fascinates the spectator's eye with its technical resources and iconographic innovation. It is much more than a virtuoso pyrotechnics exercise. What makes his work fascinating and extraordinary is his ability to create a surprising personal artistic language, unique and inimitable, capable of transcending fashions and era's .
He had a complex relationship with his clients (nobles, ecclesiastics and rich merchants such as Lluís Desplà or Francesco della Chiesa) and partners. Bermejo was a nomadic artist who went through Daroca, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia ... There was in these cities a guild system that forced outside artists to have partners. In the case of Bermejo they had much less quality than him: Juan de Bonilla, Martín Bernat or Rodrigo and Fracisco de Osona. There was a curious "excommunication clause" at the time in case the artists did not fulfill their contracts. Bermejo came to be excommunicated for painting only the central panel of the altarpiece of Santo Domingo de Silos. The Cathedral of Zaragoza came to install a lock to prevent access to the old cloister where Bermejo painted the doors of the main altarpiece of La Seo.
a star in the fifteenth century, Bermejo fell into oblivion a century later. His paintings have ended up in the sacristies and attics. Others were destroyed or lost. It was not recovered until the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to names such as the Valencian historian Elías Tormo, who made his first monograph in 1926; Judith Berg and Eric Young. As a funny epilogue, and to show the success Bartolomé Bermejo had in life, the exhibition exhibits copies and falsifications of his works. The II Marquis of Viana ordered several copies. He wanted to build a "Bermejo gallery" in his Cordovan palace. A "San Miguel" by Edmond Dyer is on display. Beside it, two fakes ("San Miguel" and "San Sebastián"), made in the first decades of the 20th century and donated in 1947 to the Petit Palais in Paris. The exhibition, which has the collaboration of the Community of Madrid and the support of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, will travel in 2019 to the MNAC in Barcelona and the National Gallery in London will gather three of its masterpieces .
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Esther Emb .
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