Duende

Artists Initiative, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Theory and function of the duende

(Frederico Garcia Lorca)

Duende literally means gnome or teaser. The second meaning gives us an indication for the context in which Lorca uses the idea. He puts Duende, as a Spanish variant, diametrically opposite the muse and the angel he thinks to find in other European countries. But where the angel and the muse are relatively innocent (and unreliable) sources of inspiration, Duende is more an enemy than a friend of the artist, at any rate not a simple companion.

"The real struggle one carries with Duende", he says somewhere in his lecture. On the other hand when one accepts this battle, but then one achieves something essential in art, the root itself.