Damita. Misiones Pedagógicas (Young Lady. Pedagogical Missions)

Francis Bartolozzi, who also signed her works as Pitti or Piti, came into her own in the liberal environment of the Free Institution of Education. The daughter of draughtsman Salvador Bartolozzi, she was able to study at San Fernando Fine Arts Academy and rub shoulders with artists and intellectuals, demonstrating an attitude that was ahead of its time. She developed her work in fields such as book illustrations and set designs — customary among new women artists — after seeing her access to the painting circuit stymied by a men-only outlook. With her husband PedroLozano de Sotés, also a painter, she took part in the Pedagogical Missions during the Second Republic, with both artists joining the long list of “missionaries” who attempted to share their knowledge and culturally motivate the furthest-flung rural environments from the major cities. The section of “Teatro ambulante” (Travelling theatre) or “Teatro del pueblo” (People’s theatre) was among the most salient as Bartolozzi and Lozano produced costume designs with which to apply some of their investigations, for instance their interest in the peasantry and children’s imagery. The said designs were characterised by their nimble lines and vibrant colours from Surrealist imagery.



Lola Hinojosa