Broadside with 48 scenes relating the tale of Don Juan de Serrallonga 1860

Curator: What we have here is a broadside print dating from 1860, titled "Historia de Don Juan de Serrallonga." It’s an engraving, or possibly a woodcut, illustrating the tale of this infamous figure across 48 scenes. Editor: It has the feel of a storyboard, a frenetic but organized cascade of vignettes. The tonal range is tight; everything pulls together into a unified, if busy, field. Curator: Absolutely. The sequential narrative lends itself well to a structural analysis. Consider the repetitive framing of each scene; the artist is creating a parallel structure. This regular arrangement imposes order on a potentially chaotic story. Editor: The figure of Don Juan clearly dominates – that cavalier figure recurs again and again throughout the frames. He is hero, anti-hero, protagonist – judging from all the fighting I'd hazard that his image spoke of rebellion, violence or resistance, which I’d guess would be powerful symbols at this period in Spanish history. Curator: I'd agree – there's certainly a sense of defiance projected, but it's fascinating how even within such a small space, the artist manages to convey the nuances of emotion and action, it may well echo deeply rooted desires. Editor: The symbolism here – the horse, the sword, the gathering crowds – these weren’t merely images, but a lexicon. Each panel could trigger deeper emotional or ideological understandings within its audience. Curator: This image as a totality achieves a unity, but the charm, of course, exists within those many variations in a grid. In this piece the scenes cohere structurally through repetition and variance in rhythm. Editor: Thinking about that symbolic weight is like reaching back in time and understanding the shared fantasies, longings and fears of a people, an emotional map which, whilst tied to specific images or cultural references, still remains emotionally current even to this day.