The Basque flag Ikurriña (1894-1936): Visual Communication and the Construction of National Identity

Abstract

This article, stemming from a research project (2020-2026) and a short academic course (2017), aims to conduct a historically informed visual analysis of the Basque flag (Ikurriña), Spain, grounded in the field of visual culture studies, in order to examine its symbolism and the various ideological and identity connotations attributed to it. The case study focuses on the period between 1894 and 1936, spanning from the creation of the flag to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This timeframe encompasses the phase of symbolic consolidation of Basque nationalism. The study approaches Vexillology as a field within Visual Communication, drawing on the theoretical concepts of ideology, hegemony, nation, tradition, and imagined communities. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach, combining a case study with bibliographical research and documentary analysis of official, iconographic, and journalistic sources, including both primary and secondary materials. The findings demonstrate that the Ikurriña exemplifies how a flag, beyond its visual dimension, functions as a symbolic artifact capable of condensing ideological, identity-related, and historical struggles, highlighting that the process of nation-building is long, complex, and, to a certain extent, permanently unfinished.