New exhibition at Madrid museum puts women first

LONG awaited exhibitions are nothing new in a time of COVID-19.

But nothing feels more urgent than allowing female artists to reclaim the space dominated by men for centuries. 

Scantily clad and resigned to the role of the muse, art history has long regarded women as mere guests in the artistic sphere. 

Hoping to redress the problem (and some of the subjects) a major museum in Madrid is putting female artists front and centre of their new exhibition. 

The first major event at the El Pedro museum since COVID-19 restrictions eased, Guests. Fragments on women, ideology and plastic arts in Spain (1833-1931) will see more than 130 works of art put on display, including paintings from Rosario Weiss and Elena Brockmann. 

The majority of work comes from the museum’s preexisting collection, with 40 pieces being restored especially for the series. 

“If we do not understand the role of women, we cannot understand women,” said Miguel Falomir, the director of the museum. 

“I think that one of the most interesting aspects of this exhibition lies precisely in the fact that it is directed towards official art of the time rather than the periphery. 

“Some of these works may be surprising to our modern sensibility but not for their eccentricity or doom-laden aura, rather for being an expression of an already outmoded time and society.”