The catholic press and spanish painting in the last quarter of the 19th century. Notes for a “fundamentalist” critique (part II)

En este artículo, centrado en las críticas a las Exposiciones Nacionales de Bellas Artes celebradas entre 1881 y 1897, una selección de textos de autores como Villamil, Calvo, Gotor y Briz, Ossorio y Bernard o Fernanlope, ponen de manifiesto la actitud conservadora de la prensa católica en materia artística. Las censuras al realismo, cuya influencia ha desbordado sus límites tradicionales, la negativa a aceptar innovaciones en las artes plásticas, los ataques al “espíritu moderno” o las invectivas contra los jurados se ponen al servicio de una lucha moralista contra un laicismo creciente que la Iglesia es incapaz de tolerar.This paper analyses the critiques of the National Exhibitions of Fine Arts held between 1881 and 1897. The study of a selection of articles by such authors as Villamil, Calvo, Gotor y Briz, Ossorio y Bernard or Fernanlope reveals the conservative attitude adopted by the Catholic church in artistic matters. The criticism of realism, whose influence had gone far beyond traditional limits, the refusal to accept innovations in the plastic arts, the attacks on the “modern spirit” or the invectives directed against the panels of judges are all part of a moralistic battle against a growing secularism which the church cannot tolerate