The anonymous Olmec artisan and Velazquez

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anonymous Olmec artisan and Velazquez Summer 2015
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Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco Email

Carlos Valverde

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México-Campus Juriquilla

México City, México

In México, despite long-standing cultural domination by Catholic Spain,

significant numbers Pre-Columbian figurines in terracotta, jade, clay, and other
materials have survived. Some of these objects clearly represent persons afflicted
by some disease. One such small sculpture that has attracted our attention is a
delicate jade figurine from the ancient Olmec nation that we will refer to as “The
Olmeca child” (Figure 1). The enigmatic Olmec society flourished in the Gulf of Figure 1: The Olmeca child (El
Mexico region from about 1500 to 400 BC and is considered by most authors as Niño Olmeca)
the progenitor of the later Mesoamerican civilizations. The name Olmec means Museo Nacional de Antropología e
“rubber people” in Nahuatl and that was how the Aztecs referred to the Historia de la ciudad de México
community that supplied the rubber balls used for the ritual games known as
“Juego de Pelota” (De la Fuente).

We found an amazing resemblance between the features depicted by the anonymous Olmec artisan and those portrayed by Diego
de Velazquez (ca. 1644) in his famous “The child of Vallecas” (Figure 2). Despite a gap of least 1500 years between these two art
works and the obvious differences in their materials and manufacture, the similarity is remarkable. Both artists reproduce with
outstanding mastery and accuracy the image of two young individuals with congenital hypothyroidism and cretinism or mental
retardation.

Hypothyroidism in both children

The Olmec figurine (Figure 1) was discovered in 1940 by Stirling and Drucker at “El Cerro de
las Mesas” in the state of Veracruz. It is a small statuette, twelve centimeters long, belonging
to the pre-classic Olmec period. Skillfully carved in green stone (jadeite), the delicate
polished sculpture features an undersized boy, probably a dwarf, and according to Vela-
Amieva, is a realistic portrait of a person with congenital hypothyroidism. In addition to the
short stature and the abnormal head-to-body ratio, both suggestive of dwarfism, this person
has a prominent, wrinkled forehead and a depressed nasal bridge. His face has coarse
features and swollen eyelids, giving the impression of puffiness or myxedema. He has thick
lips and a protruding tongue, and his general facial expression is that of a mentally retarded
individual.

Portrayed in a hunting scene, the much later

oil canvas by Velázquez “The child of
Vallecas” (Figure 2) depicts features similar to
those of the “The Olmeca child.” It shows a
short adolescent (probably fourteen to sixteen
years old) wearing the olive green attire
suitable for outdoor games. With his head
slightly tilted to the right and holding a deck
of cards in his puffy hands, his stance is
Figure 2: The child of Vallecas, indolent and his eyes sad and distant. His
1636-1638 arms and legs are short, the face swollen,
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y mouth discretely open. With his customary
Velazquez sensitivity and photographic precision,
Museo Nacional del Prado Velázquez has captured the cognitive and Figure 3: IX Homage to Velazquez , 1948
physical anomalies typical of a young, Ramón Gaya
mentally retarded dwarf. According to Del Prado Museum catalog, “The child of Museo Ramón Gaya
Vallecas” corresponds to a congenital hypothyroid cretin (Luca de Tena and Mena).

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The anonymous Olmec artisan and Velazquez

Unfortunately nothing is known about the Olmec artisan who created the jadeite figurine; but
sculpting mastery is the hallmark of Olmec culture, its rich legacy including the famous
colossal heads, as well as an assortment of figurines, facemasks, stelae, celts, altars, and
bas-reliefs. Of the small-sized Olmec human figurines, several realistically represent dwarfs or
individuals afflicted by physical deformities such as hump backs or clubfeet. Although still a
matter of debate among scholars, several of these Olmec statuettes portray children with
congenital or endocrine syndromes such as neural tube defects, Down syndrome, and
Fröhlich syndrome (Pueschel).

Figure 4: Variation on The child
of Vallecas, 1987
Ramón Gaya
Museo Ramón Gaya
reason for the long-established eponym remains unknown.
Velázquez, one of the greatest European painters who ever lived, produced splendid portraits
of the royal family and its courtesan entourage, including the many jesters, humpbacks,
dwarfs, and buffoons permanently residing at the palace. Indeed, the Spanish royal court was
particularly fond of the company of these “eccentric personages,” referred to as “gente de
placer” (people for mirth and entertainment or l'uomo piacevole or l'homme amusant). “The
child of Vallecas” is one of the most representative images of Velasquez’s remarkable skill.
Why this particular name was given to the painting is not known and a matter of controversy,
but it is generally accepted that the person was not a child and that his real name was
Francisco Lezcano or Lazcano. Furthermore, according to Moreno Villa (1939), Lazcano was
also known as the “Buffoon of Viscay” or by his nickname “El Vizcaino,” the one from Viscay.
This strongly suggests that Lazcano was a native of Viscay, not from Castile; therefore, the

The Child of Vallecas, a pictorial icon

From diverse perspectives several artists at different times have recreated the Velazquian
model. The earliest one belongs to Francisco Goya, whose image is mentioned in the
catalogue of his work despite the actual picture being missing. Another work belongs to
Ramon Gaya of Murcia, who around 1948 produced a series of paintings as homage to
Velazquez. The one dedicated exclusively to “The child of Vallecas” was entitled “IX Homage
to Velazquez” (Figure 3), in which the so-called Lazcano from Biscay is presented in a
portrait seemingly made from charcoal, probably as a sketch or composition of a bigger
work. The portrait of “The child of Vallecas” appears in the background over a table and
leaning against a wall. In the foreground there is a container, some kind of glass jar that
might contain some of the wine that the artist drank in deference to Velazquez or perhaps
what is left of the solvents in which Gaya cleaned his brushes. Later, in 1987, the same
Gaya, now at the twilight of his life and career, returned to the same motif but on a greater
artistic scale, blurring the body of the mentally retarded child to emphasize its tender and
sober face and omitting any decorative element that could divert attention from the gestural
information communicate by the painting (Figure 4).

Another recreation of the Velazquian motif appears in

the series of almost a dozen variations by the
contemporary Colombian artist Fernando Botero, an
artist known for his portrayals of obese bodies. In  Figure 5: Vallecas the child (after
“The child of Vallecas” (Figure 5), seemingly a simple Velazquez), 1971
and honest homage to Velazquez, Botero emphasizes Fernando Botero
the typically baroque chiaroscuro effects of Museo Nacional de Colombia
Velasquez, but as an obese individual who is also a
typical example of a congenital hypothyroid cretin. But in an earlier composition, “Vallecas
the child” (Figure 6), Botero takes more creative risks, departing from the original
compassionate emotion and maximizing the grotesque, horror, and repulsion, as if to say:
“Watch out! Inside each and every one of us, there is also a monstrous and painful being.”

Another interesting example, arising from his ironical and playful sense of humor, is the
plastic composition made by the Mexican artist Alberto Gironella, who throughout his work
obsessively recreated and reconfigured famous European paintings, particularly those of
Velazquez. “The feast on the palace” (Figure 7) is a kind of collage with a mixed technique,
 Figure 6: Vallecas the child very typical of Gironella, evoking the forms of baroque reredos but in this case a votive altar
(after Velazquez), 1959 in homage to Velazquez. It takes as a starting point three famous Velasquez works, “Queen
Fernando Botero Mariana,” “Las Meninas,” and the one that concerns us, “The child of Vallecas.” Rather than
Museo Nacional de Colombia emphasizing a sense of compassion, Gironella has clearly been captivated by the painting,
playing with it in a double way and decomposing the figure until it literally becomes a
caricature, almost a contemporary graffiti.

Concluding remarks

At first glance the persistent representation of a particular person is rather unusual in non-
religious art, especially if the image corresponds to a character afflicted by congenital
hypothyroidism. It may not, however, be mere artistic eccentricity. Hypothyroidism due to

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The anonymous Olmec artisan and Velazquez

lack of iodine in the diet has been a constant companion of humankind since ancient times
and is still a worldwide public health concern as some 35% of the human population lives in
iodine-deficient areas (International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders).
Iodine deficiency remains the most important cause of preventable neurocognitive
impairments (cretinism) in newborns, yet is highly preventable by simple public health
measures.

References

De la Fuente, B. “Historia de la Arqueología Olmeca.” En: Descubridores del Pasado en

Mesoamérica, Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, México: DGE Ediciones; 2001. México.

International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD).

www.iccidd.org. (August 2013).

Luca de Tena, C. and M. Mena. Guía del Prado. Editorial Silex; 1981. pp 94-111. ISBN
84-85041-49-6.
 Figure 7: The feast on the palace
Moreno Villa, J. Locos, enanos, negros y niños palaciegos: gente de placer que tuvieron Alberto
Gironella Fraser, Valerie.
1939. “Surrealizing the Baroque:
Mexico’s Spanish Heritage at the
Pueschel, Siegfried M. Do Olmec figurines resemble children with specific dysmorphology World of Alberto Gironella.”
syndromes? Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 53(4), 1998, 407-15. Oxford Art Journal, 1991. v. 14,
pp. 34-93.
Vela-Amieva, M. Reflexiones sobre una pequeña figurilla Olmeca de Jade. Revista de
Investigación Clínica; 2003. 55: 87-99, www.imbiomed.com.mx (August 2013).

ALEJANDRO ORTIZ BULLÉ GOYRI is presently at Departamento de Humanidades, División de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades,
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco.

CARLOS VALVERDE-R is presently at Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México-Campus Juriquilla.

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