Interview
with Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart Martínez de Irujo, 23rd Count of Siruela
Image taken by Inka Martí. All rights reserved.
This exclusive interview with publisher and author Jacobo Fitz-James
Stuart Martínez de Irujo, 23rd Count of Siruela was conducted in Madrid by
Nicola Linza and Cristoffer Neljesjö during August 2016.
After studying Philosophy and Letters at Madrid what vision did you have
for your future? Were you inclined toward writing primarily?
I actually wanted to be a painter. In fact, I even got as far as having three exhibitions. But, however, as it turned out, I published a book for collectors. It was a translation of a medieval novel, The Death of King Arthur, accompanied by some unusual modern drawings by a French artist. Anyway, it won first prize from the Ministry of Culture's Best Edited Book of the Year and thanks to this I sold the entire edition in a few months and invested all the money in my Publishing Company, Ediciones Siruela, which, as time went on, gained quite importance.
Please describe the theory behind your 1980s publication El
Paseante and where did the title for the publication come from?
El Paseante, although I wasn't aware of this at the time, signified Spain's transition from modernity to post-modernity. That is to say, the transition from political commitment, forced by Spain's political circumstances with a poor visual appearance, to a sophisticated three monthly magazine with a cosmopolitan soul, avant-garde as well as eclectic, whose principal driving force was limitless curiosity, a lot of attention on design and, of course, with a particular care also respect to intellectual subject matters. The title came from Baudelaire's flaneur, the stroller who wanders around the world searching for things that excite him.
You have written an essay El mundo bajo los párpados, an historical and cultural essay concerning the subject of dreaming, that was published in 2010. What do you think of Carl Jung?
Yes, I'm preparing the third edition now of this book. I've always been a follower of Jung's because I think it was Jung, and not Freud, who really explained the meaning of dreams in a broad way. But my book doesn't have to do with the interpretation of dreams but rather with the study of dreams from a cultural and phenomenological approach to history, the sacred healing by dreams in the ancient Greek temples, the lucid dreaming, the paradoxes of time in the precognition Phenomena, or those dreams that reflect metaphors of death. It's a literary book, because I've paid attention to style, and on the other hand it's a philosophical book which goes deeply into the most paradoxical and unknown aspects of dreams. And in this respect, Jung, I think, is one of the XXth Century's most profound and important thinkers.
Growing up with and around some of the best art in the world, how did it inspire you? And what are your favourite pieces from the family collection?
First of all Goya's portrait of Cayetana, the portrait attributed to Palma el Viejo, or of the IIIrd Duke of Alba attributed to Titian, or the Velazques' Infanta . . . But Liria isn't a pinacoteca, it's a Palace and should be looked at from that perspective. Palaces should be seen as a whole, from their works of art to their history and gardens. In my case, what I have most enjoyed when I lived there is the 18th Century garden which was redesigned by Forestier in 1916. The interesting thing about a Palace is that it contains within its walls the perfume of centuries.
What is your opinion on Contemporary Art?
This question is too broad to be answered in two sentences. I think we live in one of the most mannerist times of history. A lot of the things that are presented to us as if they were rabidly "avant-guarde", they really aren't. The model they are based on can be up to a century old. The first readymade of Duchamp is of 1913. The only thing that changes is their appearance and the big size of the works. Although there are great artists today, I think this a time of decadence where art is conditioned by money and superficiality. This doesn't mean that there aren't also great artists who try and survive with dignity in spite of the cynicism of the art market. I'm hoping for the arrival of something really new and refreshing.
Your mother was a woman of true style and sophistication, did she give
you any lifelong advice you still go by?
In reality, sophistication was not one of her virtues, I could attribute this to my grandparents or even, to my father, but not to her. She was a woman with a strong personality who was strongly attached to popular culture, Flamenco, the Seville Fair, bullfighting, celebrity gossip magazines, etc. But I do remember very well something she told me once and that has stayed with me. She told me that the only way to prevent responsibilities from weighing one down was to fulfill them.
If you could have your portrait done by anyone (living or deceased), who would it be and why?
Maybe Man Ray, because from the XXth Century onwards the best portraits are photographs. Or why not, Alberto Garcia Alix or Mapplethorpe, who I met . . .
The above interview with Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart Martínez de Irujo, 23rd Count of Siruela 2016 © Manner of Man Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction is strictly prohibited without written permission from the publisher.
