English
Not only does it possess the function of maintaining the existence of our species in the world – but it is also an enormous part of our lives, in terms of pleasure, motivation and satisfaction – there is no question that sex is important, and art has been one of the things to help us realise this through time.
In the case of literature, there are many works which approach the erotic and sexual wonderfully, reaching impressive new heights each time. Such is the case with “Los cuadernos de Don Rigoberto” (“The Paintings of Don Rigoberto“) by Mario Vargas Llosa (winner of Nobel Prize for Literature 2010) – the authors second sexually themed novel (the first was Elogio de la Madrastra), presenting an exciting, intriguing fusion of sex, art, fiction and reality.
Don Rigoberto, an ordinary, everyman in his 50s, fights the monotony of his life with his imagination. He is the protagonist of the novel, and the subject of its erotic fantasies – like that in the second chapter of the book, when we see Lucrecia, his wife, in bed, naked, excited and spreading honey on herself – to later release the kittens that Rigoberto has given her, and letting them follow their senses.
There´s another person who creates tension in the novel – a young man who takes sex to its limits; to the very borderline of the morally acceptable. He is called Fonchito, and is the teenage son of Don Rigoberto, and step-son to Lucrecia – a slim, intelligent man who awakens Lucrecia´s sexuality with his games (she is after his step-mother – if she was his mother, it would a be very different book), after the two share a charged sexual chemistry, inspired by the paintings of Egon Schiele.
Which brings me to the other element, which makes the relationship between sex and literature in the novel even more intense. The paintings of Don Rigoberto is a “museum” in which the stories have as their common thread, some important painting from the history of art – such as for example, The origin of the world, and Laziness and Lust by Gustave Courbet; Diana and her companions by Vermeer, and The Turkish Bath by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, amongst others.
According to Vargas Llosa, himself The paintings of Don Rigoberto is a kind of erotic fiction which feeds off art: so sex and fiction are like the two pillars holding together the entire book.
An undoubtedly juicy novel in which we are able to enjoy both erotic and good literature.
Miruton
After you´ve found your Madrid accommodation The Paintings of Don Rigoberto would be a good reading companion – especially if you love the combination of sex and literature. A highly stimulating read.
Translated by: Poppy
