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The Stämpfli Foundation

St Bernard Tonnelet

St Bernard Tonnelet, Eduardo Arroyo, 1965, oil on canvas. The Stämpfli Foundation.

 

St Bernard Tonnelet, Eduardo Arroyo, 1965, oil on canvas. The Stämpfli Foundation.

 

It is important to remember Eduardo Arroyo’s choice to go into exile during the Franco years. Born in Madrid in 1937, Arroyo was committed to the Spanish Communist Party, with his leftist anti-Franco political and social stance leading him to go into exile to Paris in 1958.

If we focus on the name, St Bernard Tonnelet, we realize that Saint Bernards are dogs that have been trained to save people who have gotten lost or confused in a snowstorm. Arroyo depicts this saving expedition with this mountain silhouette cut out over the blue skies separating Spain and France. The wrapping making up this kind of red cover refers to the artist’s communist activity, and the three dominant colours (red, white and blue), to the French flag.

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