The Generalissimo Franco died a mere four months before this stamp was issued. Despite the continuity supposedly represented by the King, the other half of the story, and just that half, could now be heard. Well and good. The architect and city planner Secundino Zuazo abandoned his ongoing projects and fled to Paris when Franco came to power in 1939. His politics and his patronage were with the Republican side, but he never again designed an important building despite living another 30 years. Strange perhaps for a proponent of rationality in his architecture. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
I mentioned the continuity provided by the King. That can be seen on this stamp. No Mr. Zuazo is not someone who would be recognized under Franco even if his politics lined up. His work mainly consisted of Madrid government offices and upscale apartments for those that man them. The right views such people as leaches. Where you see the continuity is in the style of the stamp that is very traditional. So for the average not stamp collector who may not pay much attention, everything seems normal.
Todays stamp is issue A460, a 15 Peseta stamp issued by Spain on Febuary 25, 1976. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations showing prominent Spanish architects and their most famous work. This one shows Secundino Zuazo and his House of Flowers apartment building. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.
Secundino Zuazo was born in Bilboa, Spain in 1887 and studied architecture in Madrid where he settled. At first he was an architect in the traditional style. However a trip to Holland brought him in touch with the new rational movement in architecture that began in Italy and spread. The movement did not reject traditional architecture but thought less decoration and more functionality were called for. A typical apartment building of the time in Spain would have elaborate decoration especially at the four corners but small rooms with little light let in from small windows and little airflow. The toilet facilities were communal and consequently sanitation left much room for improvement.
To answer these issues, Zuazo created his most famous work in 1932, the House of Flowers as seen on the stamps. The apartments were larger with private bathrooms and higher ceilings and larger windows. The recessed structure next to it is not a parking deck but a structure of terraces with elaborate flowers. Notice however that the façade of the building is very plain in keeping with the modern rationality.
After the House of Flowers, Zuazo got his biggest commission, the Nuevo Ministeros in Madrid. The large structure had a large center courtyard for the government workers to enjoy away from the private eyes of the public. As the Civil War in Spain ground on progress on the complex was very slow. In 1939 Franco emerged victorious but the complex was still unfinished. Zuazo had been quite close with the previous government and decided to flee Spain for Paris. Franco eventually brought in a new team of architects that finished the complex but did not stick to Zuazo’s plans. Zuazo eventually returned to Spain but his career was in shambles.
The rational international school of architecture eventually evolved taking on more influence from industrial architecture with less respect for what was built before. This was also reflective of the great masses moving to the cities from rural areas and culminated in the brutalist school of architecture. This was most prominent in the east and I did a Polish stamp celebrating it here, https://the-philatelist.com/2019/03/20/poland-1976-would-it-be-too-brutal-to-try-this-again/ .
Well my drink is empty and I am wondering of the dichotomy of someone who promotes rationality in his profession but runs away when politics don’t go his way. It was perhaps lucky that Franco’s grip on power was so long. Imagine all the uprooting Zuazo would have to do if the government was changing every four years. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.