3-098-886 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Glory of the People, 1895. The scene is a reception or farewell given in a small village to a man of the country. He has become a celebrated person, perhaps a political victor, and his black carriage stands in front of the waiting entourage. He is elegantly dressed in black, his head covered with a shiny top hat, symbolising his transformation as a man of the city and emphasising his difference from the locals in his belonging to a privileged world. The man embraces his excited parents...The father's knotted headscarf underlines his belonging to the rural world. The mother wears a black shawl with fringes and embroidered with flowers, which in this case differs from the scarves of the other women, which are much simpler and cheaper. The woman behind her may be a sister or a relative waiting to introduce her new baby. On the left are village authorities or local officials. There is a brass band wearing caps adorned with plumes. Two young locals stand on the steps of the cross. A woman with her back turned is carrying a bundle of onions. The sign on the wall reads: 'Partido y Provincia de Valencia - Pueblo de Benimuix', (Judicial District and Province of Valencia - Village of Benimuix).