{"id":35048,"date":"2023-04-14T12:24:35","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T12:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/?p=35048"},"modified":"2023-04-17T09:30:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T09:30:58","slug":"salome-by-oscar-wilde-a-tour-of-the-collection-of-the-joaquim-folch-i-torres-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/salome-by-oscar-wilde-a-tour-of-the-collection-of-the-joaquim-folch-i-torres-library\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abSalom\u00e9\u00bb by Oscar Wilde: a tour of the Collection of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ra\u00fal Gimeno and Sandra Herrera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley in Salom\u00e9: a tragedy in one act <\/em>(<\/strong>1894). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ah! I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

on thy lips<\/em><\/em><\/p>\nOscar Wilde<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the collection of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/a> you can find four different editions of Salom\u00e9<\/em> by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde<\/a>.  For this drama in one act, Oscar Wilde took as reference the execrable episode between Princess Salom\u00e9 and John the Baptist (Iokanaan) in Herod’s palace. The play’s development generates a growing love-death<\/em> tension that reaches its climax when Salome kisses the decapitated head of Iokanaan. Written in 1891 during Wilde’s stay in Paris, the work was not published until 1893. Salom\u00e9<\/em> was originally published in French with a dedication to the poet Pierre Lou\u00ffs<\/a>. From the very beginning, as we will see below, a shadow of controversy and scandal accompanied the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1894. Salom\u00e9: a tragedy in one act <\/em>by Oscar Wilde with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oldest Salom\u00e9 preserved in the Museum’s library dates from 1894. It is the first edition in English<\/a> and only 500 copies were printed. The text is presented with black and white illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley<\/a>, of whom Alexandre de Riquer<\/a> stated in the first issue of the magazine Joventut<\/em><\/a> from 15th February 1900<\/a> that he was a “very original artist, with his own character, without precedent”. Riquer pointed out in this same article that Beardsley’s illustrations had sparked very lively discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Salom\u00e9: a tragedy in one act <\/em>(1894). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This same copy from 1894 is the one that belonged to the private library<\/a> of Alexandre de Riquer. When he died, his heirs sold part of his collection to the Junta de Museus<\/a>, which represented the seed for the collection of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image03<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ex-libris of A. de Riquer in the copy of Salom\u00e9<\/em> (1894) \/ Ex-libris of A. de Riquer in issue number 1 of 1,893 of the magazine The Studio<\/em> \/ Cover of issue N\u00ba 1 of the magazine The Studio.<\/em> Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 1st<\/sup> April, 1893, a year before the first English edition saw the light of day, some illustrations by Beardsley appeared in issue number 1<\/a> of the magazine The Studio<\/em><\/a>. The London publication echoed the work of the young British illustrator in the article “A New Illustrator”, in which some of his most relevant works were reproduced: Salom\u00e9, The Death of Arthur, Siegfried, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for Salom\u00e9 published in The Studio (1893). The 1894 English translation does not include the French text that appears in the illustration: “J’ai bais\u00e9 ta bouche, Iokanaan \/ j’ai bais\u00e9 ta bouche”. Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1908. The first translation into Catalan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another edition of Salom\u00e9 held by the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library dates from the beginning of the 20th century. We refer to the first Catalan translation<\/a>, a work by Joaquim Pena<\/a> and with illustrations by Adri\u00e0 Gual<\/a> in 1908.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover of Salom\u00e9: drama in one act <\/em>by Oscar Wilde (1908) \/ Interior illustration by Adri\u00e0 Gual for Salom\u00e9: drama in one act <\/em>by Oscar Wilde (1908). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joaquim Pena, president of the Associaci\u00f3 Wagneriana<\/a>, was a renowned interpreter who translated several dramatic works into the Catalan language, in addition to being a music critic in publications such as Joventut<\/em>, El Correo Catal\u00e1n<\/em><\/a> and La Publicitat<\/em><\/a>. The artist and playwright Adri\u00e0 Gual, founder of the company Teatre \u00cdntim<\/a>, was an outstanding promoter of modernism, as well as actively participating in the renewal of Catalan theatre. His drive was decisive in disseminating the work of playwrights such as Ibsen, Hauptmann or Maeterlinck in Catalonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Small catalogue of the exhibition of paintings byAdri\u00e0 Gual organised by the Galeries Pictoria (1941). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library \/ Casas, Ramon, Portrait of Adri\u00e0 Gual<\/em><\/a>, c. 1897-1899. Museu Nacional d\u2019Art de Catalunya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theatrical performance and Margarita Xirgu<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A peculiarity of Wilde’s Salom\u00e9<\/em>, no matter which edition it is, is that the signs and indications that make it up require it to be interpreted and brought to the stage in front of the audience. His destiny is to incarnate. The play was to have its world premiere in London with Sarah Bernhardt<\/a> as leading lady but Lord Chamberlain<\/a> (Great Britain’s censor) opposed it and managed to avoid the representation under the protection of the law that prohibited the representation of biblical characters. So, Salom\u00e9 ended up being first performed in the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre de l\u2019\u0152vre<\/a> of Paris in 1896.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of February 1910 in Barcelona there was a fashion that could well be called “the era of the Salom\u00e9s”. The theatrical performance and the operatic adaptation of Salom\u00e9 coincided in the city. This singular fact is magnificently reflected in the article that Raimon Casellas<\/a> published in the artistic page of La Veu de Catalunya<\/em><\/a> on 10th<\/sup> February 1910<\/a>: \u201cSo, between the lyrical “Salom\u00e9s”, sung by Bellincioni, and the dramatic “Salom\u00e9s” recited by Xirgu, […] we have had a veritable constellation of heroines [sic] invented according to Oscar Wilde’s poem. “The distinguished art critic took advantage of Salom\u00e9’s exceptional presence in Barcelona’s cultural scene in those days to discuss the subject of representations of the daughter of Herod in Gothic altarpieces in Catalonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilde\u2019s drama had reached the Teatre Principal de Barcelona<\/a> on 5th<\/sup> February 1910 with Margarita Xirgu<\/a> in the role of Salom\u00e9. On 25th<\/sup> February, just three weeks later, due to the strong pressures it suffered, the company had to move to Paral\u00b7lel, to the Teatre Nou<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avinguda del Paral\u00b7lel and Teatre Nou. Source of postcards from the Llegat Matas-Ramis of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interpretation of Margarita Xirgu aroused antagonistic positions among specialised critics. Among the favourable ones was Eugeni d\u2019Ors<\/a> (under the pseudonym X\u00e8nius), that would request in issue number 3,875 of 16th<\/sup> February 1910<\/a> of La Veu de Catalunya<\/em> a “national travel grant” (that is, financial aid) so that “our noucentista<\/em> actress” could travel for a couple of years in Europe to complete her training. In a completely opposite way, both in terms of tone and content, Revista Dram\u00e1tica<\/em> was positioned under the rubric of J.B. y J<\/em>. on 8th<\/sup> February 1910<\/a>. Wilde’s dramatic poem was judged from a purely artistic point of view as, “very average”. That is to say, mediocre. And beyond the artistic side, it was considered directly “disgusting”. Joaquim Pena’s translation was considered – taking the opportunity to make a play on words – painful. And finally, regarding the role of Margarita Xirgu, it was stated that she didn’t know how to dance, “although she does it as she moves”. It did seem that there was a quorum on one point: the public mostly liked the work and the interpretation of Xirgu, who was undoubtedly a better actress than dancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Margarita Xirgu in the role of Salom\u00e9. Cover of issue n\u00ba. 190 of 22nd<\/sup> March 1910<\/a> of the magazine La Actualidad<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operatic adaptation and Tortola Valencia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opera, for its part, made its debut in the Gran Teatre del Liceu<\/a> on January 29, 1910, just a few days before the theatrical version based on the translation by Joaquim Pena. The soprano Gemma Bellincioni<\/a> gave life to the daughter of Herod and her interpretation seemed to have completely pleased the critics and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gemma Bellincioni. Detail of issue  n\u00ba. 1,467 of 7th<\/sup> February 1910<\/a> of La Ilustraci\u00f3n Art\u00edstica<\/em><\/a>, p. 98<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operatic piece was the work of Richard Strauss<\/a> based on a German translation of Wilde’s Salom\u00e9<\/em>. Its premiere took place in Semperoper<\/a> of Dresden on 9th<\/sup> December, 1905, and right from the start it sparked controversy around the world. La Vanguardia<\/a> echoed the controversy generated in Wilmington, in the state of Delaware, USA. In the edition of 24th May 1907<\/a> it can be read that the American public was shocked by Strauss’s impudent opera, which motivated the intervention of the authorities in order to imprison the director and the administrator of the theatre “accused of having failed to the ordinances that prohibit the representation of any immoral work.\u201d The lead performer and dancer of the Dance of the Seven Veils were also arrested, although all were eventually released on bail. Even when in 1949 Peter Brooks<\/a> directed his version of the Strauss opera with scenography by Salvador Dal\u00ed<\/a>, Salom\u00e9 <\/em>continued to scandalise the public and authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic representation of APA (pseudonym of Feliu Elias<\/a>) of the premiere of the opera in issue number 62 of 2nd<\/sup> February 1910<\/a> of the magazine Papitu<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performance moved to the Teatro Real de Madrid<\/a> and the opera was premiered on 16th<\/sup> February, 1910, a few days after the Liceu premiere. The theatrical interpretation, however, would not arrive on the Madrid stage until two years later. The actress Lyda Borelli<\/a> played the role of Salom\u00e9 in the Teatro de la Comedia<\/a>. On the occasion of the premiere, Emilia Pardo Baz\u00e1n<\/a> signed a chronicle in issue number 1,587 of 27th May 1912<\/a> of La Ilustraci\u00f3n Art\u00edstica<\/em><\/a> vindicating the Wilde tragedy: “And I don’t want to miss the opportunity to insist that Salom\u00e9 is one of the masterpieces that art has produced, in the recent period, between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the dancers whose role was to perform the dance of the seven veils with great success was Carmen T\u00f3rtola Valencia<\/a>, about which Pardo Baz\u00e1n said on 27th<\/sup> July, 1919, in the “Cr\u00f3nicas de Espa\u00f1a” section of the Argentine newspaper La Naci\u00f3n, that she was a “Byzantine icon” and that her triumph “is the costume, not nakedness\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carmen T\u00f3rtola Valencia. Source of postcards from the Llegat Matas-Ramis of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the collective imagination, Salom\u00e9 dancing barefoot<\/em> is associated with women as erotic desire and perdition. The sensual dance of T\u00f3rtola Valencia and the exoticism of the dancers’ clothing raised passions among the audience. It should be remembered that T\u00f3rtola Valencia was the muse of artists and writers such as Zuloaga, Julio Romero de Torres, Rafael de Penagos, Valle-Incl\u00e1n, P\u00edo Baroja, Ram\u00f3n P\u00e9rez de Ayala, Jacinto Benaventeo and Emilio Carrere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carmen T\u00f3rtola Valencia in the role of Salom\u00e9. Drawing by <\/a>Ramon Soler<\/a>. Source: Institut del Teatre<\/a> \/ Carmen T\u00f3rtola Valencia in the role of Salom\u00e9. Drawing by Ricardo Macedo. Source: Institut del Teatre<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20th<\/sup> Century. German edition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2020, the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library received the donation of 45 boxes of various documents. Among the volumes that made up the donation were several issues of the collection of Insel-B\u00fccherei<\/a> published by Insel Verlag<\/a>, the publishing house created in 1901 from the literary and artistic magazine Die Insel<\/a>. Issue number 247 of the aforementioned collection was dedicated to the version in German<\/a> of Wilde’s Salom\u00e9, with low-quality reproductions of Beardsley’s illustrations. It is not easy to determine the date of publication because none is listed, but it was certainly printed at the beginning of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Salome:Trag\u00f6die in einem akt<\/em>. Illustration by Beardsley with text in German. Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2005. Translation by Terenci Moix illustrated by Gino Rubert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth copy<\/a> of Salom\u00e9 held by the library was published in 2005, although its entry into the collection is much more recent. It presents the Catalan language translation by Terenci Moix<\/a> accompanied by illustrations by Gino Rubert<\/a>. The fragment selected at the beginning of our writing is taken from this edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Salom\u00e9 <\/em>(2005). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editions of Salom\u00e9 <\/em>in the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we have been able to see, the catalogue of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library <\/a> has four versions of the controversial Salom\u00e9 that Oscar Wilde published in French in 1893: one in English, another in German and two in Catalan. The oldest belongs to the 19th century, two to the 20th and the most modern to the 21st<\/sup> century. All of them, without exception, include illustrations. Library users can consult them, in the reading room, after prior request for the documents.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Cubiertas de las cuatro ediciones que forman parte del fondo de la Biblioteca Joaquim Folch i Torres<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ra\u00fal Gimeno and Sandra Herrera Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley in Salom\u00e9: a tragedy in one act (1894). Source: Joaquim Folch i Torres Library Ah! I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan. I have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste on thy lips Oscar Wilde Within the collection of the Joaquim Folch i Torres Library…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":35053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16,2,24,428,811,42],"tags":[1875,1669,1876,1874,1873,1877],"class_list":["post-35048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collection","category-digital-en","category-general-en","category-library","category-museum-jobs","category-publications-en","category-research","tag-aubrey-beardsley","tag-library","tag-margarita-xirgu","tag-oscar-wilde","tag-salome","tag-tortola-valencia","author-raul-gimeno"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/capcalera-24.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4tWCI-97i","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35048"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35065,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35048\/revisions\/35065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}