Helios Gómez
Encyclopedia
Helios Gómez is considered as one of most emblematic representatives of Spanish graphics in first half of 20th century. He was a painter, revolutionist, but also an anarchist-communist and a poet.
He was born in Seville at Triana quarter into a very poor Rromani family with rural origin. Until his death he was proud of his Rromani and Andalusia
n (south Spanish) origin. He first became involved with the visual arts as a simple worker in many porcelain
factories of Seville, where he ornamented different objects, at the same time following the School of Craft Arts and Trade of the city. During the 1920s he created his political conscience at anarchist at the revolutionary centers of Iberian peninsula
: Seville and Barcelona. Later he took part in the Avant-Garde of European capitals where he lived as a refugee, especially Paris
, Brussels
, Amsterdam
, Berlin
, Vienna
, Moscow
, and Leningrad
. During this time and especially since he was a member of National Confederation of Labor (a syndicate founded in Seville on 1910) he proceeded as a draftsman in press, appealing for justice and being expressed without fear against Primo De Riviera dictatorship and later against Francisco Franco
. This was the essentiality of his commitment.
Helios Gomez was the initiator and first president of a professional draftsmen syndicate in Spain
with its residency in Barcelona, which he founded in the summer of 1936, to defend the republic through politically engaged posters.
At first he was appreciated for his political avant-gardist designs in black and white, but he worked, exposed and published his pieces in Madrid
and Catalonia
, when he was dislodged from Andalusia on 1926. From Barcelona he was deported by the political authorities. He asked for lodgment first in France
and then in Belgium
, Netherlands
, Germany
, and in the Soviet Union
, where he met many Rroms from his country.
He fought on the front of art as well as in military fights during the Civil War in Spain, being a political commissar in Majorca, Madrid and then in Andujar
. He was consigned to the responsibility of culture at 26th Division, Durruti column, and according to some witnesses he got together a battalion of Rroms to protect the republic against Franco dictatorship.
In 1939 he was constrained to go to France, along with 500.000 warriors of freedom from Spain. This massive migration is known in history as “Retirada”. French authorities enclosed them in some concentration-camps and then they were deported to Algeria
, which at that time was part of France, at Gelpfa camp.
Gomez escaped from camp tortures on May 1942 and managed to get a passage to Spain, where he again engaged in illegal activities in the fight against Franco. In 1946 he was arrested again and was thrown into Barcelona jail without a trial or conviction, where he remained for 8 years. Although the decision for his discharge was signed on 1950, he was released only in 1954. He died in 1956.
In 1950 he painted in jail some fresco
s to honor prisoners and the Virgin Mary, who is the patron saint of prisoners as well as the city of Barcelona. Best known is La Verge de la Mercé (Virgin of mercy) that can be admired until today in a cell close to the one of the prisoners sentenced to death. This cell was transformed into a sacred place and was named Capilla gitana, because of the Rromani inspiration of all characters, described to fresco. Unfortunately this fresco was partly covered by dye on ’70-’80, under the cover of hygiene. In reality the fresco was disliked in the way of prison authorities. It could be restored, but recently the city of Barcelona decided to destroy this historic jail, although it is a symbol of the Franco repression and it was registered in the architectural fond of the country. Its destruction will bear the downfall of it that was discovered only on 2004.
Helios Gomez has created this Capilla gitana under Franco’s dictatorship and censorship, alone in his cell, against reticence and deceit, but during that time he has written also some verses: Credo del sur – sonetos y romances (Credo From the South – Sonnets and Romances, 1946), Erika – canto de amor y lucha (Erika – Songs of Love and Combat, 1946), Poemas (Poem, 1947–1950), Poemas sueltos (Poem on the Prowl), Otros poemas (Other Poems ) etc. The Cultural Association Helios Gómez, with its residency in Barcelona, does everything to protect and make known widely this outstanding heritage of the Rromani artist, draftsman and poet, but there are difficulties from authorities who, under the cover of various justifications, deny the values of this activity, however admired worldwide. Its site www.heliosgomez.org facilitates an extremely interesting iconography
.
He was born in Seville at Triana quarter into a very poor Rromani family with rural origin. Until his death he was proud of his Rromani and Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
n (south Spanish) origin. He first became involved with the visual arts as a simple worker in many porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
factories of Seville, where he ornamented different objects, at the same time following the School of Craft Arts and Trade of the city. During the 1920s he created his political conscience at anarchist at the revolutionary centers of Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
: Seville and Barcelona. Later he took part in the Avant-Garde of European capitals where he lived as a refugee, especially Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. During this time and especially since he was a member of National Confederation of Labor (a syndicate founded in Seville on 1910) he proceeded as a draftsman in press, appealing for justice and being expressed without fear against Primo De Riviera dictatorship and later against Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. This was the essentiality of his commitment.
Helios Gomez was the initiator and first president of a professional draftsmen syndicate in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with its residency in Barcelona, which he founded in the summer of 1936, to defend the republic through politically engaged posters.
At first he was appreciated for his political avant-gardist designs in black and white, but he worked, exposed and published his pieces in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, when he was dislodged from Andalusia on 1926. From Barcelona he was deported by the political authorities. He asked for lodgment first in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and then in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where he met many Rroms from his country.
He fought on the front of art as well as in military fights during the Civil War in Spain, being a political commissar in Majorca, Madrid and then in Andujar
Andújar
Andújar is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andújar is situated. To the south are agricultural fields and...
. He was consigned to the responsibility of culture at 26th Division, Durruti column, and according to some witnesses he got together a battalion of Rroms to protect the republic against Franco dictatorship.
In 1939 he was constrained to go to France, along with 500.000 warriors of freedom from Spain. This massive migration is known in history as “Retirada”. French authorities enclosed them in some concentration-camps and then they were deported to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, which at that time was part of France, at Gelpfa camp.
Gomez escaped from camp tortures on May 1942 and managed to get a passage to Spain, where he again engaged in illegal activities in the fight against Franco. In 1946 he was arrested again and was thrown into Barcelona jail without a trial or conviction, where he remained for 8 years. Although the decision for his discharge was signed on 1950, he was released only in 1954. He died in 1956.
In 1950 he painted in jail some fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s to honor prisoners and the Virgin Mary, who is the patron saint of prisoners as well as the city of Barcelona. Best known is La Verge de la Mercé (Virgin of mercy) that can be admired until today in a cell close to the one of the prisoners sentenced to death. This cell was transformed into a sacred place and was named Capilla gitana, because of the Rromani inspiration of all characters, described to fresco. Unfortunately this fresco was partly covered by dye on ’70-’80, under the cover of hygiene. In reality the fresco was disliked in the way of prison authorities. It could be restored, but recently the city of Barcelona decided to destroy this historic jail, although it is a symbol of the Franco repression and it was registered in the architectural fond of the country. Its destruction will bear the downfall of it that was discovered only on 2004.
Helios Gomez has created this Capilla gitana under Franco’s dictatorship and censorship, alone in his cell, against reticence and deceit, but during that time he has written also some verses: Credo del sur – sonetos y romances (Credo From the South – Sonnets and Romances, 1946), Erika – canto de amor y lucha (Erika – Songs of Love and Combat, 1946), Poemas (Poem, 1947–1950), Poemas sueltos (Poem on the Prowl), Otros poemas (Other Poems ) etc. The Cultural Association Helios Gómez, with its residency in Barcelona, does everything to protect and make known widely this outstanding heritage of the Rromani artist, draftsman and poet, but there are difficulties from authorities who, under the cover of various justifications, deny the values of this activity, however admired worldwide. Its site www.heliosgomez.org facilitates an extremely interesting iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
.
External links
- Helios Gómez
- Helios Gómez Page from the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia