Kepa Garraza

Kepa Garraza - Charles III

Biografía del Artista: Kepa Garraza is a Spanish artist born in 1979 in San Sebastian. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Leioa and at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of the Basque Country. He currently works in his studio in Bilbao.Garraza's work focuses on painting and sculpture, using materials such as iron, wood and marble. His style is characterized by abstraction and geometry, often employing repetitive shapes and solid colors. He has also worked with installations and public art, creating monumental pieces that interact with their surroundings. Throughout his artistic career, Garraza has received numerous awards and recognitions, including First Prize at the 14th BMW Painting Competition in 2002, the Gure Artea Prize at the Guipúzcoa Art Biennial in 2004, and the Sculpture Prize at the 31st Getxo Art Exhibition in 2013. His work has been exhibited in various galleries and museums both nationally and internationally, including the Galería Victor Lope in Barcelona, ​​the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the Venice Biennale in Italy.

This wonderful portrait of Charles III painted by Rafael Mengs is a true example of style and propagandistic vocation. The canvas shows the sovereign in armour, standing out against a background of a palatial interior. His left hand describes an imperative gesture and in his right he holds the baton of command. On his chest there are various insignia that symbolise the military authority of the monarch. On a table there is a royal cape and an ermine cloak. All these elements together symbolise the absolute power of the monarch, who exercises his sovereignty over the people with judgement and firmness. Charles III was, in fact, an absolute monarch. He knew how to centralise power effectively, cutting back on the privileges of the nobility and the clergy. In addition, he created an efficient administration that represented a great advance for a country that had been backward and impoverished by constant wars and the delusional economic policies of his predecessors. He modernised the State and the administrations and was, in the end, a perfect example of an enlightened despot. His descendants did not have the same character and, although they behaved like true despots, they were unable to repeat the successes of Charles. The government of the country was delegated to opportunists, useless ministers and reckless military men. In short, they did not know how or did not want to entrust the tasks of government to capable people with a reforming spirit.