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Overview
Mardi Gras is a 1926 drypoint print that depicts two smiling young women wearing traditional Spanish mantilla veils, standing on a balcony enclosed by a richly decorated arch. One clutches a fan and leans out into the street, the other stays in the shadows, her face and hair silhouetted by her white mantilla.
The reason for their smiles is indicated in the title; they are celebrating the festival of Mardi Gras. In Catholic countries such as Spain, it is the last day of rich eating before the fasting associated with Lent. Lindsay captures the spirit of celebration with the free, soft, loose line of the drypoint. The burring is particularly effective in the ladies' clothing, conveying the textures of the material.
A relaxed style pervades Mardi Gras; parts of the composition are unfinished, such as the uppermost left corner of the window, and in places the line is sketchy. Lindsay travelled to Spain several times, first in 1902 and again in the 1920s. As young man he had read Don Quixote and loved the opera Carmen. Above all, Lindsay adored Spain for the atmosphere of "sensuous delight far from the strict Protestantism of small-town Victoria" (Kay, p. 15) that he found in its festivities.
The inscription on the sheet below the plate is interesting: the print is dedicated 'to my friend J.M. Ilott Feb. 26'; this indicates the relationship between Lindsay and Sir John Ilott, Wellington advertising magnate, collector and benefactor, who presented it 26 years later to the National Art Gallery.
Sources:
Elizabeth Kay, ‘Dreaming of Spain’, in Before Addled Art: The Graphic Art of Lionel Lindsay edited by David Maskill (Wellington: Adam Art Gallery, 2003), pp. 15-16.
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art July 2018