The Piece of the Month for July 2026

PHOTO OF A visit STUDENTS FROM high school TO A COAL PIT IN BAZTAN

Ignacio Miguéliz Valcarlos
Chair of Navarrese Heritage and Art

At first glance, this seems visit an innocent photograph—a high school visit high school a charcoal kiln in the Baztán Valley—but it conceals deeper meanings linked to new teaching methodologies, as well as a more comprehensive exploration of the value of the image, the representation of reality, and its connection to the viewer’s perception. Thus, the image presented here sample group students posing in the middle of the forest in front of a charcoal kiln, while atop the kiln, also looking at the camera, stands the charcoal burner. An innocent image of a field trip to an ancestral activity taking place near the high school—just like the thousands of photographs we have today of school trips and activities—which populate and shape our collective imagination and with which we all identify, since our family albums contain numerous similar images.

The group schoolchildren poses in a more or less orderly fashion in front of the charcoal kiln, contrasting the whiteness of their smocks with the inherent grime of a charcoal kiln, as well as the outfits of some of the students with the natural surroundings in which they pose or with the figure of the charcoal burner. Also noteworthy is the date this photograph was taken—1926—when this subject imagery had not yet become popular. And herein lies one of the key points, which sample us sample innovative this image is, in keeping with the equally pioneering educational policy of educational which the students come—the high school of Our Lady of the Good committee Lekaroz. This school had been founded in 1888 in the Baztán Valley as seminar novitiate of the Capuchin Order for Overseas Missions by Friar Joaquín María de Llevaneras (1852–1923); it was transformed into high school in 1891 and finally into high school in 1908. Lekaroz was established with a modern teaching system, both in terms of the methodologies applied and the subjects taught, as well as the high school facilities, which included various laboratories and experimental workshops for both the sciences and the arts. The high school founded in a natural, rural setting, far from major urban centers, with Pamplona and San Sebastián being the nearest cities. As mentioned, it employed a teaching methodology teaching combined teaching with internship, utilizing the most modern technologies of its time, which made it an innovative and pioneering institution in Spain. As this image and others preserved in the high school file demonstrate, the curriculum taught at the educational complex educational complemented by a series of outdoor activities that allowed students not only to enjoy nature but also to gain knowledge of the world around them.

From the moment of its founding, and in line with the new teaching methodology teaching implemented at the high school—in which theory and internship hand in hand—a series of science and arts labs were established, including a laboratory , something entirely novel in Spain at the time. On the one hand, this laboratory used as a teaching tool teaching subject within the field of the arts; on the other hand, it served to capture and document daily life at high school, generating an file more than 15,000 images, which are preserved to this day, and after the high school closure, at the Capuchin convent outside the city walls of Pamplona, some of which served as promotional material to publicize the teaching methodologies teaching at the high school. The image presented here clearly illustrates the various uses to which photography was put at the high school. On the one hand, it was taken by one of the teachers in laboratory ; on the other, it captures one of the students’ outdoor activities on their days off. Above all, however, it transcends both of these uses to serve as test and sample life at the high school—as a tool for dissemination and teaching—going beyond the mere capture of a memory or moment to function as a medium for communication and promotion. This photograph sample teaching sample , which shows that students, in addition to attending theoretical sessions, enjoyed a healthy environment connected to nature and fresh air—a factor considered important for their well-being. Likewise, it illustrated an interest in the history and customs of high school surroundings—an interest that could be applied to any other region or context—during a period of Regeneracionism in which historical, ethnographic, and popular cultural interests were deeply rooted. At the same time, it showcased the Education that students received at the high school, in keeping with the new era they were experiencing.

Thus, these photographs captured life at high school, but they also showcased it to the world as a means of promoting and publicizing its teaching methods. Indeed, the high school in Lekaroz had been founded in 1888 by Friar Joaquín de Llevaneras, who implemented a modern educational system that included various science and arts laboratories and workshops. teaching high school teaching high school Spain at the time of its founding, its classrooms were attended by students ranging from local residents of neighboring towns and those from Navarre or Gipuzkoa to others from the rest of Spain, as well as students from abroad, all drawn by its innovative methodology. 

The high school ’s laboratory high school divided into three different areas tailored to the needs of this medium, with a darkroom for developing and spaces for printing on various materials. The original laboratory until 1968, when a more modern one was set up in the high school . It was professionally equipped with all the necessary materials, sourced from suppliers in Barcelona, Bilbao, and Zaragoza, as well as international companies such as the French firms Lumière & Sons and Bonne Presse in Paris, and the German company Carl Zeiss, as evidenced by the invoices preserved in high school file . A Capuchin friar always laboratory this laboratory , although he did not hold the position “Lekaroz photographer”; the first was Friar Antonio de Antequera (1854–1937), who remained in that position his departure from the convent in 1908. He was succeeded by Friar Pedro de Madrid (1880–1936), who left the high school the Capuchin Order in 1918, followed by Santos de Tudela, Rafael de Alegría, José de Lesaka, Agustín de Zumaya, Ambrosio de Lorca, and Inocencio de Echevarri. Since the friars viewed the work a collective effort—and virtually none of these photographs are signed, laboratory was the list of those in charge of laboratory official—we do not know who took this photograph.

Thanks to this laboratory, Lekaroz compiled a fascinating photo archive documenting life at high school its inception and through the various activities held there. The collection captures the religious life of the convent, with images of its residents and activities—such as Father Llevaneras and other Capuchins—as well as the classes of missionaries sent to the Carolinas and other missions of the order. Another important section consists of photographs featuring the high school itself high school its facilities, which to some extent served as promotional material for the school. This is followed by a collection documenting the daily life of high school its boarding students, capturing training classes training leisure time—including the photograph analyzed here, as well as similar images of field trips and visits of all subject those depicting annual groups of students and teachers, along with graduating classes organized by academic track. Finally, there is a collection of great interest that includes images of the Baztan region, farm work, the daily life of its inhabitants, and the buildings found there, with special attention given to farmhouses, reflecting a clear ethnographic and anthropological focus in light of the development interest these topics generated at the time.
 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AZANZA LÓPEZ, J.J., “An Approach to an Unknown Photographer and Painter: Fr. Pedro de Madrid, Pedro Satué, Foto Antsa,” in bulletin Arte*, no. 36, department Art History, University of Málaga, 2015.
AZCONA, T., de, “Photography at the high school (Baztán),” in GARCÍA GAINZA, Mª.C., and FERNÁNDEZ GRACIA, R., (Eds.), Photography in Navarre: Archives, Collections, and Photographers. Notebooks of the Chair Navarrese Heritage and Art, No. 6, Pamplona, Chair Navarrese Heritage and Art, 2011.
GOÑI, F., Lekaroz in 100 Words, Pamplona,alumni association , 2016.
ZUDAIRE HUARTE, E., Lekaroz: high school Señora del Buen committee high school committee 1888–1988), Burlada, Castuera, 1989.