The Myth of Franco

The exaltation of Francisco Franco as Caudillo of Spain was the first and essential maneuver carried out by rebel propaganda. The mythification of the Francoist leader was achieved through a series of propagandistic strategies in which the visual arts played a crucial role.

Incessant repetition—both in the frequent mention of Franco’s name and the multiplication of his likenesses—while deliberately equating both his personal name and image with a series of ideas, was an incredibly effective method in the process of mythification. Propaganda successfully identified Franco with concepts such as fatherland, the state, liberation, and Spain. In this way, without further argument or losing its persuasive power, Franco’s name alone was used as a slogan on some of the posters produced by the rebels. Graffiti bearing his name appeared spontaneously on walls and even in groves of trees, suggesting the omnipresence (and omnipotence) of the rebel leader.

Both photographs and paintings of Franco’s portrait flooded the press, publications, and, of course, public spaces. As portraiture is a traditional genre of the fine arts, Franco’s likeness easily found expression in the most academic forms of plastic art. Sculptors produced notable pieces, such as the busts by Emilio Aladrén and the collection of equestrian statues that glorified the dictator as a military hero.

There were also celebrated painting, such as those by Ignacio Zuloaga, Álvarez de Sotomayor, and José Aguiar—the author of the piece shown here. Aguiar’s portrait was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the 1938 Venice Biennale and reproduced as a frontispiece in the catalog, so that it was Franco himself who endorsed the event. The painting served as the international presentation of the image of the Caudillo, depicted with great solemnity using the resources of rhetorical art: monumentality enhanced by a low viewpoint, sculptural-style modeling of the full-length figure dressed in a gala uniform adorned with decorations, sash, cape, and sword. The figure stands out against a landscape marked by the smoke of battle and overshadowed by an overwhelming sky, endowing Franco with confidence and power.

Mass public events in the purest fascist style were characteristic of Francoism - and fundamental in the process of myth making. They helped project a positive and grand image of Franco, presenting him as a supreme authority. The Day of the Exaltation of Franco to the Headship of State, also known as the Day of the Caudillo, was celebrated every 1 October in honor of the man who had by then been elevated to the status of a myth.

IEG