"Guests," the exhibition that manifests misogyny"

The "Guests" exhibition seeks to vindicate women's role and the hostility with which the Spanish art system treated them in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In artworks, women are rarely the principal figure at their own free will and are seldom in the places they want; "Only uncomfortable guests in the art scene of his time," said the Prado museum, where the exhibition takes place.

The opening exhibition of the Prado Museum consists of 13 sections, which visualize the political bias that queens had. In the paintings, Queen Juana la Loca was confined in Tordesillas with her daughter to prevent her from participating in political life, or women who were seduced and returned home asking for forgiveness, completing 13 themes that portray misogyny over time.

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"I think one of the greatest attractions of the exhibition lies precisely there, in not having gone to the periphery but to the official art of the time. Some of these artworks may surprise a contemporary sensibility. Still, it will do so not because of its eccentricity or curse, but because it is an expression of a time and a society in decline", says Miguel Falomir, Director of the Museo Nacional del Prado.

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Opening exhibition after the pandemic

"Guests" is the first exhibition organized by the Museo Nacional del Prado after its reopening. "Guests" aims to offer a reflection on how the established powers defended and propagated the role of women in society through visual arts, from the reign of Isabel II to that of her grandson Alfonso XIII.

During this time, the Prado Museum became a central element in the purchase and exhibition of contemporary art and played a substantial role in constructing modern Spanish school. With this exhibition, the Museum shows its commitment to the conservation, study, and dissemination of its collections to make visible artworks not always available to the public's reach by incorporating them into new narratives.

Traducción. Valentina K. Yanes