The Image of the Combatant

Those who fought in the Civil War were extensively depicted in wartime artistic creations, with the image of the combatant as a war hero being the most widespread. Soldiers were typically portrayed with a strong or athletic build to withstand the physical demands of battle and to inspire greater confidence in the fight for victory. Nudity as a symbol of bravery: the bare torso revealing muscularity and the tense pose evoked the classical hero, suitably updated for the modern epic of war, was a common feature in many depictions of fighters.

This sculpture by Felipe Coscolla, titled The Hero, is a magnificent example of this. Furthermore, art granted the combatants an enviable morale, evoking the temperament necessary to withstand pressure and an unconditional dedication to the cause for which they fully assumed their role with all its consequences. As if it were a compensation for the sacrifice they made, the images of combatants sought to convey deep respect and admiration for them.

Details of the uniforms make it possible to identify the different soldiers involved in the war: those of the regular Army, militiamen, civil guards, Falangists, requetés, members of the Moroccan corps, or the International Brigades. Representations of militiamen are perhaps the most popular, starring in countless creations since the beginning of the war, which sectors of the left often referred to as a revolution. There was a special emphasis on the image of the female militiaman (miliciana), which was used as a symbol of the antifascist struggle

But not everything in the images of soldiers emulated heroism and epic grandeur. Artists also captured the less glorious tasks that combatants carried out in their daily lives. Some of these artists were assigned to accompany and portray the troops while others mobilized themselves—thus becoming direct witnesses of this everyday reality: rest, rations, hygiene, recreation, long hours of waiting… Real scenes that show the human side of the combatants and reveal a certain melancholy. After all, not all were volunteers, and once the initial moments of patriotic fervor had passed, the soldiers were forced to fight.

Of course, alongside the typical representations of combatants where the identity of the figures mattered less than their belonging to a collective and their role in the course of the conflict, there were also more intimate portraits—for example, those capturing battalion comrades or self-portraits. Naturally, there were also portraits, official or not, of famous combatants and leaders: Franco, Miaja, José Antonio, Durruti, and others.

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