The life of Saint John the Baptist ended on the day that Salome demanded that Herod cut off his head as a reward for his sensual dance. Hegel said that
history always repeats itself twice
and, unfortunately for
San Juanito
(or
San Juan Bautista as a child
), it did. The statue that the Italian genius Michelangelo Buonarroti chiseled in the 16th century with the figure of the preacher as a child
ended in 1936 with his head severed
. It happened in Úbeda, in the sacred chapel of El Salvador, the place that was his home for hundreds of years and that housed
the only piece in Spain attributed to the famous sculptor
.
Arsenio Moreno, professor of Art History at the Pablo Olavide University and an expert on
San Juanito
, asks for
caution when attributing the statue so freely to Miguel Ángel
. In his talk with LOC, he says that the artist's first biographers, such as Vasari and Condivi, speak of a
San Giovannino
(
Saint John
) sculpted by him in his youth. There is no other data that indicates the fate of the statue and, therefore, there have been dozens of hypotheses about what it could be. Among all of them, the one that has the most force is the one that points to that 140-centimeter-high figurine that one day was in Úbeda, thesis endorsed by the famous archaeologist and historian Manuel Gómez-Moreno. The fact that the sculpture is
almost identical to the one Michelangelo painted in the
Madonna of Manchester,
they tip the balance in their favor.
How did a Michelangelo arrive in Spain?
We must go back to Florence in 1537. Cosimo I de Medici established his power in the city
thanks to the support of King Carlos I of Spain
.
As a reward, he offers you property and gifts, including the
San Giovannino
.
Miguel Ángel was already 62 years old.
The head of 'San Juanito', a piece that reappeared in 1991.EM
The also emperor of the Germanic empire, however, is a generous man and knows that his achievements are not only his.
His secretary,
Francisco de los Cobos
, is and has been a vital person for the good future of his empire, so he
decides to reward him with the statue
.
Francisco de los Cobos is the code name in this story.
A native of Úbeda, with the wealth that he has amassed, he has a sepulchral chapel built there for him and his wife,
the sacred chapel of El Salvador
.
Some documents dated 1563 give evidence that
the San Juanito was sent there
directly from Italy.
When de los Cobos dies he will be transferred to the Chapel of El Salvador.
However, the story of Francisco de los Cobos does not end here.
There is another important part to mention.
He was not noble
, but he had been a very important person for the king, so he decided to
marry him to someone who was
, María de Mendoza, one of the most important families of the time.
The son of the couple will be Diego de los Cobos, who will already be born a nobleman and, in addition,
will receive as a gift from the king the title of Marquis of Camarasa
, which currently holds the House of Medinaceli.
This makes San Juanito the
property of the Medinaceli
, who manage their heritage through the Casa Ducal de Medinaceli Foundation.
'San Juanito', in its exhibition at El Prado.EM
We now return to the beginning of the story.
The antecedents were important to understand what happened after '36. Arsenio Moreno is not only a professor of Art History, he is also an expert in the history of Úbeda, his city, something that he testifies in his latest novel,
Galápago
, which is why His involvement in the history of San Juanito goes beyond the professional, handling all the data in detail.
"
On July 26, 1936, the Church is attacked
. They take a good part of their works to the square and set them on fire, one of them was the San Juanito. The pieces are collected later, although some probably fell into the hands of private individuals. .
The figure is completely ruined
, so the remains are deposited in protected areas of the church ".
However, in 1991 the miracle took place:
the head was thrown into the fire, but it was not destroyed
.
In fact, they locate it in the Museum of Fine Arts in Granada.
The Medinaceli Foundation, then, decides to repair the San Juanito.
It is sent to the Florence Restoration Center and there it spends 25 years until 2013. "A
little more than 50% of the piece is authentic, the rest rebuilt
", explains Moreno, who could not calculate what the current value of the piece is: " I think it's impossible to tell. "
AN ATTACK AGAINST ART
The return to life of San Juanito is celebrated in the world of art and, even, an international congress is held.
There the patrons, that is, the Foundation, agree that the piece will return to Úbeda
. However, it does not. In 2015, it was exhibited for three months in the Prado Museum and its trace is lost.
Moreno does not know exactly where he is
and the Foundation has not answered calls from this supplement. "The City Council and the Ducal House
have signed several complex agreements
", explains the professor. On the one hand, the Consistory wants him to return to his natural place. On the other, the Foundation delays the operation until a safe place is built for it. "The important thing is that it seems that the subject v
to taking its final steps after years of encounters and disagreements
", the art expert says, who comments very excited about this last part:" Its natural site is El Salvador and that is part of the history of a work of art.
You have to go home.
You are expected and will be received with open arms
. "
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