A la Carga 1963

Guillermo Silva Santamaría made this image of a knight on horseback in 1963. Look at this knight charging through a dreamscape, built from layers of flat color, like cut paper! What do you think Santamaría was thinking? I can imagine him delighting in the shapes and patterns, like a kid with crayons. The red horse is wild, not like a real horse, more like a symbol of energy and passion. The knight sits rigidly above, in contrast. The horse is red, the legs are black, and the knight and his lance are grey and metallic. The flat, graphic style reminds me of medieval tapestries or even playing cards. There's a sense of humor here, too, like he's not taking the idea of a knight too seriously. Artists build on what came before, riffing off history. Santamaría looked to the past, but brought his own playful, modern eye.