El Miracle de Santa Genoveva (The Miracle of Saint Genevieve)

"Charles Deering (Maine, 1852 - Florida. 1927) commissioned Josep Maria Sert to paint murals to decorate the main entrance to Maricel de Mar. This set is made up of six compositions, and its narrative structure runs from right to left, as is common in Sert’s work. With the exception of the first panel, the narration covers two areas: one human, which reflects the events of World War I, either real or desired, and the second is transcendent or imaginary, running parallel to the first one and underscoring the action described in it. When Charles Deering left Sitges in 1921, he took his paintings with him. Years later, the collector Dr Jesús Pérez-Rosales purchased them and returned them to the original location for which they had been made. In this work, Saint Genevieve was the protectress of Paris against the invasion of the Huns under the orders of Attila in 451. Thanks to her, Paris was miraculously saved. The taxis in the Battle of the Marne, the most important skirmish in World War I, was a second miracle parallel to the first one. On the first of September, the German had managed to reach the Marne River. General Joffre ordered the French to hold out at all costs, with Paris behind them. The government moved to Bordeaux. General Gallieni ordered 1,100 taxis from Paris to protect the reinforcement troops at the front in order to stop the invasion. Two million men fought on a front 300 kilometres long, and through their actions they prevented the French lines from breaking. By the 12th of September, the German offensive had failed, and the war shifted from one of manoeuvres to one of entrenchment. This deed is immortalised with realistic referents, such as the enormous, interminable row of taxis running through the painting, creating spaces on either side. Gallieni himself appears overseeing the manoeuvre from a hill on the left of the painting. On the divine plane, Saint Genevieve has left her majestic position under the pallium and adopts a posture of unease and agitation in view of the dramatic scene witnessed by those she protects. (Museu de Maricel, Sitges, Col. Dr. Jesús Pérez-Rosales, 520)"