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BarkellWH -> RE: Conde Questions (Jan. 24 2016 13:49:00)
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quote:
These guys owned some of the very early Conde' guitars. In those days the labels were hand made and signed by Charles V, so they clearly predate the Felipe V.
Stephen, the original of that painting hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Until seven years ago, you could walk right up to it without an intervening barrier, but that was before a deranged luthier from Paracho attempted to slash it with a knife. Wild of eye and with trembling lip, he was heard to cry out that the "Leyenda Negra" (Black Legend) about historical Spanish atrocities committed in Mexico is true, and that no respectable institution should be displaying such paintings with Condes or any other Spanish-made guitars in them.
He was raving that it was one more example of the Spanish undercutting good, honest Mexican luthiers, and then he was subdued by a Gallery guard. Since that incident, the National Gallery has placed a velvet rope around the painting to keep visitors at a safe distance, much like the barrier around the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. Visitors from Mexico are queried closely, and if any are from Paracho they are given a more thorough interrogation and are searched for potential instruments that could inflict damage on the painting.
Finally, one interesting footnote concerning the painting itself. Art historians have meticulously studied it, and, as you point out, note that the labels seemed to be hand-lettered and signed by Charles V. I say "seemed to be," because experts on that era of Spanish history and luthiery have noted that the guitars in the painting do not conform to the shape and size that would be the case were they part of the original painting. That seems to suggest that the guitars were added at a later date. The mystery is who would have added the guitars to the original painting, and why? One line of speculation suggests that the painting was an occult object, and that there is a hidden meaning that only members of the Illuminati or the Rosicrucians understand.
Bill
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