Presentation of *Broken Destiny: Emmanuel Frémiet’s Velázquez, Between Art, History and Memory* (Casa de Velázquez), by Nancy Berthier.
The author will be introduced by artist Carmen Calvo.
This book presents an original visual arts-based investigation into the “destiny” of a work profoundly shaped by history: the equestrian statue of Velázquez created by Emmanuel Frémiet in the late nineteenth century. Drawing on extensive archival research and a detailed analysis of images, the study traces the sculpture’s successive “lives” and reinterpretations, from its creation in France and display in the gardens of the Louvre to its relocation in 1935 to Madrid, where it was installed in the gardens of the Casa de Velázquez, mutilated during the Spanish Civil War and later restored.
Beyond this particular case, the book invites reflection on the capacity of art objects to survive, transform and continue to question the present.
