Oración 

José Garnelo painted this study, Oración, in oil on panel at an unknown date. The woman at prayer is the focal point, but it is the architecture which dominates. The church could be anywhere in Europe. It’s rendered with confident brushstrokes which dissolve detail into atmosphere. What do such buildings represent? We can find answers by looking at 19th-century attitudes to the medieval past. Across Europe, writers and architects were busy recasting the Middle Ages as a time of authentic national values. The Gothic style became associated with sincerity and religious feeling. Spain, in particular, experienced many different waves of enthusiasm for its own medieval heritage. It’s fascinating to study Garnelo’s painting in the light of these cultural and political trends. The archive may one day reveal the location of this church and help us to understand the artist’s vision more fully.