Frank delinquent: Dalí did not pay for the portrait of Carmen Martínez-Bordiú

The family Franco He obtained numerous goods and properties of all kinds while the dictator ruled without paying a penny for them. This was also the case of the portrait of the coup plotter’s granddaughter, Carmen Martinez-Bordiuwhat will he do Salvador Dali expressly commissioned by the ruler as a wedding gift of Alfonso de Bourbon and Dampierregrandson of Alfonso XIII and cousin of Juan Carlos Ito his future wife.

It is one of the works of art most celebrated by the Francoist press at the time. After several negotiations, the portrait entitled “María del Carmen rides on the horse of history”, was to be paid to Dalí with three works from the Museo del Prado funds chosen by the painter, in exchange for his pictorial work on the first granddaughter of the head of state.

But the brilliant artist never received the promised paintings, not even a single penny for his work. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the delivery of this magnificent oil painting, measuring 1.60 x 1.80 metres, to Franco’s granddaughter. Carmencita, as she was called in private, explained in a “memoir” published by the magazine Hola that her fiancé gave her a diamond ring that had belonged to her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and a diamond bracelet.

The famous aristocrat recounted in the coated paper magazine that her first husband, “At the same time, he told me that he would be excited if I gave him a painting of mine… painted by Dalí.” Carmen explains: “My mother began to take steps, but, with everything and with that, the painting could not be done until almost two years later.” When they separated, they agreed that Alfonso would keep the jewelry again and she would keep the painting.

As published The vanguard, according to his research, Salvador Dalí in his day put several conditions before being convinced to paint the portrait. Days before the engagement and gifts were announced at a press conference on December 22, 1971, Mariano Calvinothen attorney in Parliament and national councilor of the Movement, telephoned Salvador Dalí at the Hotel Meurice in Paris to give him the order.

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The surrealist painter replied that he had to consult Gala and his dealer. Calviño then went to his friend Miguel Mateuwho had been mayor of Barcelona and was a friend of Dalí, who also sought help from the mayor of Figueres in those years, ramon guardiolato among all convince the great author.

Salvador asked the mayor of his hometown for 100,000 dollars (about seven million pesetas at the time) for the painting, what his dealers usually asked for any portrait. The painter, however, indicated that he would do it for half of that money. Franco’s representatives offered only between 200,000 and 500,000 pesetas; they made it clear that the price the eccentric author spoke of was excessive.

According to the story of the Catalan outlet, Dalí offered two alternatives: the gift of a relevant painting for his future museum in Figueres, for which he suggested the name of the financier Juan March as a patron, or the assignment as a deposit for his museum of some of the paintings from the Museo del Prado that were in the warehouses. In addition, the artist made it a condition to have the approval of the then Prince Juan Carlos, since he had started the portrait of him and could not stop it without his approval.

Calviño accepted the plan and authorized the Prado operation, and Juan Carlos raised no objections. The picture began to be painted during the summer of 1972, when Alfonso and Carmen stopped for a few days in the Empordà and met Dalí. This was the first time that the author made an equestrian portrait. However, Martínez-Bordiú did not mount to pose because she was already pregnant, although she had married on March 8 of that same year.

The work has its crumb, because it represents Carmen in a white blouse mounted on a horse that reveals a landscape that reveals the monastery of El Escorial and some characters taken from “The Surrender of Breda” by Velázquez. The histrionic author described them with his peculiar style: “In the constantly changing clouds of diplomacy, the horse of history stands out, revealing the luminous horizon and the immutable sky of the Caudillo’s serene Spain.”

Dalí finished the portrait in autumn and delivered it to the Palacio del Pardo in Madrid on November 7 without the young couple, who lived in Switzerland. His parents, the Marquises of Villaverde, and his maternal grandparents, Francisco Franco and Carmen Polo. For the transfer, the insurance company La Estrella valued the painting at five million pesetas.

The next day, the image of Dalí and Franco next to the painting appeared on all the front pages of the national press. Some of the headlines already made the painter suspicious: “The news is that for the first time in his life, Dalí has ​​given a painting as a gift.”

Salvador then specified to the mayor of Figueres his request for three paintings for the central space of his museum located under the dome, and Guardiola transferred it to the director of the Prado, Xavier de Salas. During the following months, letters were exchanged between Guardiola, Calviño, Salas and the ministers of education and culture. José Luis Villar Palasí y Julius Rodriguez. The Dalí Theater-Museum opened on September 28, 1974 without the expected deposits from the Prado.

Apparently, on October 8, 1974, the general director of Fine Arts at the time, Joaquin Perez Villanueva, sends a letter to Dalí where he talks about the “Prado paintings that we would initially have ready to send to the museum”, and explains what they would be. The painter from Figueres never responded, but he always told her that he didn’t like any of the paintings he was offered.

The following year the dictator died, and the artist never charged for that work for the Franco family. Today, the material value that the painting that the brilliant author painted “from the face” can have is not referenced anywhere, in writing or in a catalogue.