Garrote vil (The Vile Club)

In the 1880s, Ramón Casas had already rehearsed the representation of crowd scenes in works such as Entrada a la plaza de toros in Madrid or Las regatas. After a period in which his portrait and nude compositions predominate, he returns to the motif of the multitudinous events, among which Vile Garrote occupies a preeminent place. The painter himself witnessed the scene of this execution, which took place in Barcelona in 1893, but when he brought it to the canvas, he did not insist on the morbid aspects inherent in the subject, emphasizing rather on the journalistic chronicle of the event. Casas carried out two preparatory studies for this work, in which the chimneys of Barcelona's industries are seen in the background. The main motif focuses on the crowd that is portrayed from a high point of view, grouped around the scaffold, in which the executioner, the prisoner and the priests are located. Also participating in the scene are the Cofrades de la Sangre with their characteristic hoods. Between the accused and the expectant crowd, Casas introduces an empty space, which contributes to enhancing the tension and drama about the leading group of the scene.