Jovan Ducic ́ y su “Carta desde España”
Jovan Dučić and his Letter from Spain

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes prose devoted to Spain, its history and culture, written by Jovan Dučić (1872–1943), a Serbian poet, essayist and ambassador of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Madrid and Lisbon. The most important work on this topic by Dučić is “Letter from Spain” from Cities and Chimeras. The author’s reflections on Spain are also included in two volumes of philosophical essays: King Radovan’s Treasure and Leutar Mornings. In his works, Dučić does not refer to the situation in contemporary Spain or its residents. What he focuses on is mainly the history of this country. Listing many historical facts and figures associated with the past of Spain (rulers, painters, politicians, clergymen and poets), he puts St. Teresa of Ávila at the centre. In his works, he sees Spain as a country in which every form of human activity, including politics, art and, most importantly, everyday life, is subordinated to God and faith, whereas religion as the driving force of all actions has dominated the existence of inhabitants, depriving them of optimism and the joy of life. Spain represented by Dučić is a country devoid of beauty, full of pain and suffering, which resembles the gloomy vision captured by El Greco in his painting View of Toledo.

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