Alfonso

Alfonso: Be Wary of Memory

A vivid portrait of 20th-century Madrid, from the father/son duo that pioneered Spanish photojournalism

This monograph compiles work from the family-owned Spanish photography studio that revolutionized Spanish photojournalism and portraiture in the early 20th century. Founded by Alfonso Sánchez García (1880-1953), the studio's fame was achieved by his son Alfonso Sánchez Portela (1902-90), who operated under the same single-name moniker. Known as the photographer of Madrid, Alfonso documented both historical and everyday events--from the war in Morocco to the proclamation of the Republic and the Civil War that followed. Definitive authors of modern Spanish visual memory, the studio also captured portraits of important 20th-century figures, including Machado, Sorolla, Franco and Queen Victoria Eugenia--along with prisoners, executioners and ordinary people. The photographs from both father and son paint a vivid portrait of Madrid and its evolution from a provincial city at the beginning of the century to the great contemporary city that it is today.