BATTLES PAINTINGS' SCENERIES. ALCOLEA'S BRIDGE

ALCOLEA'S BRIDGE. CÓRDOBA

LA BATALLA DEL PUENTE DE ALCOLEA por JOSÉ MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ DE LOSADA
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I carry on, from the south of Spain to the North looking for battles paintings’ sceneries.
I left the Cadiz coast to go to the interior; first to Seville, and then in the direction of Cordova following the course of the Guadalquivir River. Near Cordova, in Alcolea, a bridge crosses the Guadalquivir River with a good flow of water due to recent rainfall. Along the same waters on September 28 of 1868, the army of Andalusia, in command of the Duke de la Torre, Francisco Serrano, defeated the troops loyal to Isabel II. The battle lasted 12 hours and the Marquis of Novaliches, who led the government army, ended with a jaw shattered by shrapnel.
In the nineteenth century, José María Rodríguez de Losada recreated the battle in a painting that is kept at the Royal Academy of History. Today, the bridge of Alcolea stands still, as 138 years ago, over the river waters and, interestingly, also the esplanade where Rodriguez Losada painted the troops. But looking back, I can have a glimpse, of the construction cranes getting very near.