In search of Duende.

At least four elements can be isolated in the vision of duende: irrationality, earthiness, a heightened awareness of death, and a dash of the diabolical. The duende is an earth spirit who helps the artist see the limitations of intelligence. Who brings the artist face-to-face with death, and who helps them create and communicate memorable, spine-chilling art. The duende is seen, as an alternative to style, to mere virtuosity, to God-given grace and charm (what Spaniards call “ángel”), and to the classical, artistic norms dictated by the muse. Not that the artist simply surrenders to the duende; they have to battle it skillfully, “on the rim of the well”, in “hand-to-hand combat”. To a higher degree than the muse or the angel, the duende seizes not only the artist but also the audience, creating conditions where art can be understood spontaneously with little, if any, conscious effort.

“it dilates the mind’s eye, so that the intensity becomes almost unendurable… There is a quality of first-timeness, of reality so heightened and exaggerated that it becomes unreal…”.