THE CAPILLA GITANA IN
THE MODELO PRISON IN BARCELONA
Helios Gómez's political
activism and the publication of drawings showing his strong
commitment in social protest often brought the artist to
prison. In 1950, in the course of one of his long periods
of imprisonment -between 1948 and 1954- at the pressing
request of the chaplain of the Modelo prison in Barcelona,
Bienvenido Lahoz, a priest of the Order of Mercy, Helios
Gómez agreed to paint frescos consecrated to the Virgen
de la Merced, the Virgin of Mercy, patron saint of Barcelona
and of prisoners. This oratory is situated in cell nº
1, on the first floor of the fourth gallery. Because the
figures painted on the fresco have gipsy-like features,
it has been known from its first
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Detail of the frontal fresco
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production as the Capilla Gitana.
This work of art, the inspiration of an internationally
recognized artist, is part of the city's cultural heritage.
The artist's son photographed the frescos for the last time
in their original state in 1985, and copies were given to
the prison authorities as evidence. In 1998, they were painted
over by the prison staff, for "hygienic reasons"
according to the ministry's director of public relations.
This damage was done under the direction of the Catalan
Justice Minister of the time, Nuria de Gispert, in direct
contravention of intellectual property legislation. In the
context of the Generalitat's speculative operations
concerning the site of the Modelo prison, requests
for Helios Gómez's work to be restored were never
acknowledged. These requests were made to the Justice Minister,
Nuria de Gispert, Consellera de Justicia (18/11/98),
to the Minister of Culture, Joan Mª Pujals, Conseller
de Cultura (30/11/98), to the Ombudsman, Anton Cañellas
(3/12/98) and to the then Director-General of Cultural Heritage,
José Mª Huguet (21/4/99). Numerous articles
published in the press in defence of the work met with no
greater response from the administration: see José
Mª Huertas, "La desapareguda Capella dels Gitanos",
in El Periódico, 26/2/98; Emil Herman, "Helios
Gómez artista universal" in La Varguardia,
5/5/98; Xavier Barral i Altet (former director of the National
Museum Of Catalonia Art), "Atemptat contra l'art a
la Model", in Avui, 9/6/98; Pedro Burruezo,
"Que no se pierda la Capilla Gitana", in ABC
Cataluña, 30/1/99; "La Capella Gitana de
l`Helios Gómez", in EL TRIANGLE 10/3/99;
Gabriel Gómez, "La Capilla Gitana, el arte silenciado",
in Boletín de la Plataforma La Model per la Cultura,
May 2000; Lluis Permanyer, "Arte entre rejas no es
Modelo", in La Vanguardia, 2/6/2001. However,
the association's protest has received the support of personalities
and groups, among whom: Antoni Tapies (painter), Lluis Carod
Rovira (president of Esquerra Republicana de Cataluña),
Teresa Pamies (writer), Daniel Giralt Miracle (art critic),
Carles Fontseré (artist), Abel Paz (historian), Forges
(artist), Joan Manuel Serrat (singer), the association SOS
Monuments, the Federacion de Asociaciones de Vecinos
de Barcelona (Federation of Barcelona Citizen's), the
Agrupación Profesional de Ilustradores de Madrid
y Cataluña (Professional grouping's of ilustrators
of Madrid and Catalonia), etc.
The history of the Modelo prison is closely linked
with the sufferings of three generations of victims of repression.
The opponents of the dictatorial regime of 1939 lost their
lives there, but in addition the lives of their families
and friends, of their children and grand-children, were
blighted too. A number of present-day politicians and Catalan
leaders were also incarcerated there. All this gives the
remarkable building a huge significance. The existence of
the frescos of the Capilla Gitana amply justifies
the association's demand for restoration of the work of
art, and for dedication of the site as a place of historical
memory, where the graphic art and documents concerning Helios
Gómez can be displayed, and where special exhibitions
of imprisoned artists and political art can be mounted.
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