Photo exhibition brings artists' studios to life

The 90 digitally reconstructed photographs have been picked form the photographic archives of the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute.

The artists and their works were captured by renowned Spanish photographers, including Mariano and Vicente Moreno, Ruiz Vernacci, Count of Polentinos Aurelio de Colmenares y Orgaz, Cabre, Wunderlich and Pando.

The photos give a glimpse into the diversity of various artistic movements in Spain in the first half of the 20th century, the National Gallery said in a press release.

The exhibition is divided into five sections. The first one puts on display 19th century representatives of history painting and landscape painting, such as Moreno Carbonero and Beruete, and in the second a number of artists are grouped together whose creative zest was inspired by folklore, customs, costumes and traditions of different Spanish regions.

It continues with a section of photographs of artists whose works have a more modern and relaxed style, more characteristic of the 20th century. The Spanish portion of the exhibition concludes with a group of photographs taken during the Spanish Civil War and a decade after, showing war propaganda art and the return to post-war everyday life.

The National Gallery has also added a selection of photographs showing Slovenian artists that were active in the areas of modern-day Slovenia in the same time period as their Spanish counterparts.

Slovenia has a long and rich tradition of photography. The first professional photography studios in Ljubljana were already set up in the 1950s and amateur photography blossomed in the 1980s, the gallery said. The bulk of the photos in this section were taken by Fran Vesel, who founded the Slovenian Amateur Photographer's Club in 1911.

Photography became an indispensable tool for artists at this time as a substitute for sketching, and besides Vesel, renowned painters such as Ivana Kobilca, Matija Jama, Rihard Jakopič and Matej Sternen owned cameras.

However, due to financial difficulties, many artists at the time did not even have their own separate working space so the exhibition also calls attention to the current situation artists are facing as many are in the same position due to sky-high rents.

The exhibition has been organized by the Sub-Directorate General of State Museums at the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport and put on display by the National Gallery of Slovenia in cooperation with the Spanish Embassy in Slovenia as part of the cultural program of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council of the European Union.

The exhibition, running until 26 November, will be opened by the Spanish Ambassador to Slovenia Juan Aristegui.