Pig in San Isidoro de León, Spain

Pig

Pig.
The Slaughter of the Pig (representation of the month of november in a romanesque calendar).
Panteón Real (Royal Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, León, Spain). In situ.
ca. 1100.
Wall painting (fresco).

Description

In a largely agricultural and cattle raising society like the one in the Early Middle Ages, the system most commonly used to show the calculation (passing) of time was through the use of images depicting the labors of the month. In the case of the Royal Pantheon at San Isidoro, these appear in twelve independent medallions which form the intrados decoration in one of the main arches of the enclosure.

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In those times, pork was the main source of protein for the peasants therefore the social significance of the act of slaughtering the animal, an event usually carried out between November and December, depending on the weather. In León, the animal is slaughtered in November.
The body is worked in shades of ocher, to which brushstrokes of white have been added to give sheens to the image and insinuate muscle detail, as happens with a row of short black strokes on the back, referring to the bristles of the animal, trying to provide same realism to the work.
For the same reason, the painter took the trouble of indicating that the pig had cloven hooves, flat snout and small triangular ears that serve the farmer to hold it tightly, while immobilizing the animal with one leg just before hitting the mortal blow with the ax.
To ensure that the animal had gained enough weight, in the previous medallion, corresponding to the month of October, same farmer appears feeding it with acorns that fall from a tree placed in front of them.

Bibliography

• Viñayo, A., Pintura románica. Panteón Real de San Isidoro-León. León, 1971.
• Wettstein. J., La fresque romane: Italie-France-Espagne. Études comparatives. Ginebra, 1971.
• Viñayo, A., San Isidoro de León. Panteón de Reyes. Albores románicos: arquitectura, escultura, pintura. León, 1995.
• Grau Lobo, L. A., La pintura románica en Castilla y León. Valladolid, 1996.
• Walker, R., “The Wall Paintings in the Panteón de los Reyes at León: A Cycle of Intercession”, The Art Bulletin, LXXXII/2 (2000), pp. 200-225.
• Viñayo González, A., “Real Colegiata de San Isidoro”, Enciclopedia del Románico en Castilla y León. León. Aguilar de Campoo, 2002, pp. 533-566.

Author

Marta Poza Yagüe