Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga opens exhibition on Spanish identity

The Museo Carmen Thyssen Málaga has launched a new temporary exhibition titled ‘¡Olé! El mito de lo español a través de Andalucía’ (Olé! The myth of the Spanish through Andalusia). Sponsored by the Fundación Unicaja, the exhibition marks the culmination of the museum's 15th anniversary celebrations.

The exhibition explores the artistic construction of Spanish identity, specifically how Andalusian traditions, folklore, and popular culture were transformed into recurring stereotypes during the 19th and 20th centuries. It examines the aesthetic myth initiated by foreign Romantic travelers who viewed Andalusia as an exotic landscape, often equating Andalusian traits with the essence of Spain.

Curated by Bárbara García and Alberto Gil, the collection features 75 works by 52 artists, most of whom are Spanish. The display includes a diverse range of media, such as painting, drawing, engraving, photography, and sculpture, spanning a chronological arc from artists like Goya and Zuloaga to Picasso and Barceló. The exhibition aims to present a non-prejudiced discourse that allows tradition and the avant-garde to dialogue, questioning the ‘typical Spanish’ image through various lenses, from the idealized to the subversive.