Exhibitions in 2013

The exhibition presented a carefully-curated selection of photographs running through the past two centuries of the history of Spain, from the invention of daguerrotype equipment to the present day, chronicling the most important historical events of the 19th and 20th centuries. This account was accompanied by paintings showing the formal coincidences of both disciplines and illustrating how some of the stereotypes of our society were shaped.

The exhibition also covered the evolution of women’s fashion over this period. Around thirty costumes demonstrated the parallels between the transformation of the female silhouette and the social changes taking place at those times.

This exhibition was curated jointly by Fundación MAPFRE and the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie of Paris, bringing together around 100 works from some of the most prestigious public and private collections in Italy. It was the first exhibition on this movement to be held in Spain, in spite of the importance and influence of the Macchiaioli on Spanish painting in the late 19th century.

William Christenberry (Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1936) holds a leading position in the recent history of American photography for his unusual vision of the traditional landscapes of the American South; unsurprisingly, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of color photography. Yet Christenberry is also a versatile creator who has used other media – painting, drawing, sculpture and installations – to capture the memory of a landscape he has traveled through and experienced all his life.

This exhibition provided the most extensive retrospective of Emmet Gowin to date, giving a closer insight into the different stages of his work through which it was possible to observe the photographer’s perspective of reality, from the most intimate to the most universal aspects.

The exhibition, curated jointly by Fundación MAPFRE and the HAMBURGER KUNSTHALLE of Hamburg, comprises almost 190 pieces including sculptures, paintings, drawings, engravings and photographs from 32 prestigious public and private international collections, notably the Kunsthaus Zürich – Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung, the National Gallery of Washington, the MoMa in New York, the Tate London, the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, the MNAM Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg.

This exhibition presented the work of Álvarez Bravo from a different perspective. As well as the iconic photographs that distinguished his work, it also featured other experimental and unpublished work from his archives: chromatic film and Polaroids, and experimental film clips from the 1960s. The exhibition revealed little-known aspects of his photography that are still highly relevant and topical today.

This exhibition presented the origins of artistic Bohemia, illustrating its link with the representation of gypsy art through around 100 masterpieces by artists such as Goya, Watteau, Gainsborough, Teniers, Corot, Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Degas, Sorolla, Sargent, Signac, Van Gogh and Picasso, among others.

The exhibition explored the end of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism through 78 masterpieces loaned by the Musée d’Orsay, starting with Monet’s early series (The Haystacks, The Poplars and The Cathedrals), and ending with the decorative work of Vuillard in his “Public Gardens” series.