Mary the gypsy

Unlike the other sculptures in the series Bustos de la raza, where Julio Antonio did not wish to represent any specific individual, with María la gitana, querida que fue del Pernales he breaks with this trend to represent a very specific person.

María was a woman of gypsy origin who was the lover of a famous Andalusian bandit. Julio Antonio met Maria and has she herself explained, she was proud of her lover, who was being pursued by the Civil Guard for stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

The sculpture represents a middle-aged woman from the waist up; it is the only bust produced by Julio Antonio in which we can see the person’s hands, a significant detail, since it allows her to hold with two fingers over her chest a medal which her lover may have given her.

Her forehead, covered in deep wrinkles, is framed by a simple hair style with two hairpins at the sides and a band which gathers the hair at the back. It is worth noting the manner in which Julio Antonio deals with the expression on her face. Maria does not look ahead with open eyes; they are half-opened and she is looking to the left, while her lips reveal a timid smile that reminds us of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Her whole expression reveals a degree of suspicion, while she proudly shows us her medal.

Julio Antonio has adorned this sculpture, but not profusely: we can observe earrings, bracelets on her right arm and several rings on both hands. Her shoulders are covered with a shawl with a very subtle floral decoration, which ends at the bottom with a fringe that falls over her arms. A strip runs around the base of the sculpture, bearing the inscription María la gitana, querida que fue del Pernales. Inscribed within a triangle, this composition would be used by the sculpture in other works, this being this first time he had experimented with it.