Poema de Córdoba - an allegorical polyptych by Julio Romero de Torres, 1913

 

Córdoba guerrera.

Córdoba barroca.

Córdoba judía.

Córdoba cristiana.

Córdoba romana.

Córdoba religiosa.

Córdoba torera.

Designed as a sort of secular altarpiece, Poema de Córdoba, is an expression, a reinterpretation, of spiritual, psychological, and historical themes associated with Córdoba, told through allegory; the artist himself explained the seven panels as the reincarnation of the past in the present. The series consists of six panels of equal size, along with a larger central panel. With the eight full-length figures that appear in the polyptych, and in the varied idealized or invented landscapes that serve as backgrounds, Romero de Torres interprets the spirit of Córdoba, the ancient city in which the artist was born, lived, and died. 

I'm not certain as to how the group is currently framed.

The polyptych is in the collection of the Museo Julio Romero de Torres in Córdoba, Spain. 

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Córdoba guerrera: an allegory of the Córdoba of El Gran Capitan. "The Great Captain" was Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. In the background appears a fictional landscape in which the monument to the "Great Captain", the western façade of the Mosque-Cathedral and the portal of the Paez de Castillejo palace can be distinguished. The model was Dolores Castro, known as "Pirola, the gypsy".

Córdoba barroca: an allegory of the Córdoba of Luis de Góngora. In the background, a fictional landscape in which stands, atop a pedestal, a sculpture of the poet and priest Luis de Góngora y Argote. The model was Encarna Rojas.

Córdoba judía: an allegory of the Córdoba of Maimonides. The background is a landscape based mainly on the Plaza de la Fuenseca and in which stands a fictitious statue representing the famous Jewish philosopher and doctor. At the end of the street can be seen the Arco del Portillo. The model was Amalia Fernández Heredia.

Córdoba cristiana: an allegory of San Rafael, the guardian angel of the city. It is the central panel and the largest. Two women hold between them a silver statuette of the archangel Saint Raphael, its design based on the well-known painting by Juan de Valdés Leal, El arcángel San Rafael. Outside, behind a semicircular arch, is visible a fictional landscape made up of two buildings and a fountain. The models were Adela Portillo and Rafaela Torres.

Córdoba romana: an allegory of the Córdoba of Seneca. In the background appears the Puerta del Puente and a fictitious statue that is meant to represent the philosopher Seneca. The model was Adela Moyano.

Córdoba religiosa: an allegory of the Córdoba of San Pelayo Mártir. Saint Pelagius was a Christian boy martyr, put to death in Córdoba in 926. In the background is seen a landscape based on the Plaza de Capuchinos, featuring an imaginary tomb of Bishop Osio, an early Christian leader. The model was Rafaela Ruiz.

Córdoba torera: an allegory of the Córdoba de Lagartijo. In the background can be seen the Plaza de la Corredera as well as a fictitious monument to the bullfighter Lagartijo (Rafael Molina Sánchez; his fighting name, Lagartijo, means "lizard".) The model was Ángeles Muñoz.

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Off-topic, Romero de Torres seems to have had a bit of a fetish for ladies' shoes; dainty, silken pumps feature prominently in so much of his work. And not only fine ladies, but even barmaids, gitanas, and (otherwise naked) nudes are all thus incongruously shod. I admit I find his little obsession rather charming.