Louis Quintanilla Drypoint: Fenomeno (Phenominon)

*Catalogue Entry #: For numbering used in other catalogues, see below.

The Pierre Matisse Gallery Catalogue # = 32;
The Universidad de Cantabria "Luis Quintanilla" catalogue # = 3.

The Spanish title, El fenómeno, appears in the artist's hand in pencil on at least one impression beneath the plate mark, l.l. (See Fig.1 below.)

The only known impressions bearing titles in the artist's hand for Madrid Series prints are in the Hemingway Collection and carry their titles l.l. where the numbering normally appears.

The BNE catalogue uses"[La niña fenómeno]" (Freak Child).

The Pierre Matisse Gallery exhibition catalogue (1934) uses the title "Saltimbanquis". The English translation of the Spanish "saltimbanquis" that seems most appropriate is"charlatans."

The 2005 Universidad de Cantabria exhibition catalogue "Luis Quintanilla" and FBA use the title "Mujer con bigote" ("Woman with Mustache").

The English, "The Phenomenon" or "The Freak," is our translation of Quintanilla's title and doesn't appear on any observed impression or in any known catalogue.

Fig. 1

***Date: The BNE catalogue states "1934." Of the dates that appear on works in the Hemingway Collection, which includes this print, none is earlier than 1931 and none later than 1934. Quintanilla started making drypoints, in fact prints in general, with Adolfo Ruperez, the printer of all the prints in the Madrid Series, sometime after the artist's return to Madrid in 1929. (See Biographical Chronology.)

The one known exception to the range of dates specified in the paragraph just above is entry # I.

****Medium: Although Burdett claims that Quintanilla did not mix his printmaking media and used solely drypoint, the BNE catalogue describes this print as "drypoint and etching." Examination of other prints from the Madrid Series also reveals the use of etching along with drypoint. Until further examination is made, the catalogue raisonné concurs with the BNE designation of "drypoint and etching."

For further discussion of the factors involved, visit the "Medium" section of "Using This Catalogue Raisonné."

Reproduced in: "Luis Quintanilla" (Universidad de Cantabria) (39).

*****Edition: Quintanilla and his printer were inconsistent in their manner of numbering.

The FBA impression is inscribed "n° 9" l.l.
The BNE impression is unnumbered.
Ruperez typically printed ten or fewer (most commonly 7-10) of Quintanilla's Madrid Series prints, often including at least one or more unnumbered impressions. (No record exists of more than two unnumbered impressions of any of the Madrid prints.)
- The Hemingway Collection typically includes one unnumbered impression bearing a title instead of the number, l.l. (See Fig. 1 above.)