THE IMAGE OF BLESSED CEFERINO GIMÉNEZ MALLA (EL PELÉ) IN SPANISH SACRED SCULPTURE OF THE LATE 20TH – EARLY 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

The research is devoted to studying the figure of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (El Pelé) (1861–1936), who was of Roma origin and lived in Spain. For his lifetime accomplice activities in the religious sphere, charity, and public work in the field of Roma rights, as well as due to his martyrdom during the Spanish Civil War, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997. It has been established that El Pelé as the first Roma saint is revered by Roma people all over the world. And his personality and life path are of interest to Spanish artists in the field of sculpture. In this regard, currently there is a number of his sculptural images that demonstrate the tradition of Spanish sculptural plastic arts and are worth the attention of art critics. The purpose of the article is to characterize the peculiarities of the formation of the artistic image of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (El Pelé) in the sacred sculpture of Spain of the late 20th – early 21st century. Generalized results: the study describes the iconographic features and specificity of the artistic image of Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (El Pelé), using the example of a number of sculptural works by Spanish artists, including José María Barón (the sculpture «Ceferino Giménez Malla»), Juan de Ávalos (the sculpture «Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla»), Darío Fernández Parra (the sculpture «Ceferino Giménez Malla with a Child»), Encarnación Hurtado Molina («El Pelé»), José Luis Mayo Lebrija (the sculpture «Ceferino Giménez Malla»). The analysis of these examples of Spanish sculpture made it possible to conclude that they have a stable iconographic Catholic tradition using conventional attributes, poses and gestures. At the same time, they have elements of the author’s interpretation of the image of El Pelé, thanks to which individual sculptural images are perceived as expressive examples of contemporary fine art.