In the dome of the Niemeyer, there is “La comida” by Equipo Crónica. A lot of Goya mixed with Spanish “pop-art”. This painting, along with Gutiérrez Solana, who is one of my favorite artists,” highlighted the expert, Maria Toral, who is the curator of the exhibition “Goya-Ni más ni menos”. The Equipo Crónica was formed in the 1960s by Manolo Valdés, Rafael Solbes, and Juan Antonio Toledo. They anticipated modernity by drawing from tradition, specifically from Velázquez and Goya. Until the end of September, the exhibition hall at Niemeyer will be open to the over one hundred Goya artworks adorning its curved walls and those influenced by him. Toral shared the top five highlights with LA NUEVA ESPAÑA, starting with the ancient meal from the master of Fuendetodos, illuminated by Crónica with a siphon.
Fernando Botero. The exhibition at Niemeyer showcases at least two Botero pieces. One is a colorful portrait of a bullfighter, and the other is a drawing of a beggar receiving coins from a disembodied glove. “Botero believed that even in harsh subjects, there is an extraordinary aesthetic pleasure,” noted the curator of this summer’s exhibition at the cultural center by the river. “This beggar by Botero aligns well with Goya’s ‘Disasters of War,’ where he cleverly titled it ‘If they are of another lineage’,” added the expert. “The Aragonese master shows that in wars, social classes are further divided,” she continued, observing the print depicting impeccable gentlemen beside poor individuals who appear almost dead. Botero reinterprets the piece by giving all the spotlight to the vagabond and dehumanizing the wealthy, only showing a luxurious glove.
Gutiérrez Solana. “He is one of the great artists who emphasizes the importance of Goya’s work in history and the role of the artist as a witness to his time, as a notary of what happens in his era,” explained the curator of the summer exhibition at Niemeyer, which includes the sketch of “Las chicas de la Claudia,” a collective portrait of prostitutes preparing “for their work.” “Goya addressed this issue in his time: women watched over by any Claudia, leading us to the ‘Celestina’ engravings by Goya where he denounces this situation of women.”
Robert Capa. The exhibition also features photographs, specifically by the most prominent photojournalist of the first half of the 20th century. “One characteristic of the ‘Disasters of War’ is that the protagonists are not the victors, but the vanquished. In this sense, it is said that Goya was the first photojournalist in history. There was no photography, but there is the visual testimony he left in his series of engravings. Robert Capa was known to be in the Spanish Civil War, at the Ebro front, much like Goya, who was at the Siege of Zaragoza. Capa photographed a murdered man hanging from a tree, naked, an image that parallels Goya’s engravings 37 and 39: ‘A heroic feat with dead’ and ‘This is worse.’ It is a brutal parallel.”
Paula Rego. “One of Goya’s characteristics, as a forward-thinking artist, is the love he feels towards animals. We could talk about bullfighting, but now is not the time, that series failed due to its brutality: dead bulls, dead dogs, dead bullfighters… but here we have one of the proverbs, titled ‘Loyalty’ by him. We see a man subjected to insults from those around him: today we would say he is a victim of ‘bullying.’ When you see the proverbs, you don’t understand what is happening: in this one, we have the deformed man defending a small dog. This reflects Goya’s character towards animals: his involvement. This is also what Paula Rego, a wonderful Portuguese artist, reflects,” concluded Toral.
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