The Caixaforum Girona explores the imprint that classical mythology has left on the history of art with Art and myth. The gods of the Prado. The exhibition, which can be seen until August 28, is close to the representation that art has made of Greco-Roman myths. from the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid.
In total, it includes 42 pieces including paintings, sculptures and objects such as medals ranging from 1st century BC to the first half of the 18th century, with works by artists such as Rubens, Francisco de Zurbarán and Jan Carel van Eyck. The classical discourse of these pieces is also contrasted with the validity of the myths today, through an audiovisual and questions that challenge the visitor during the tour.
«Mythology is eternalbecause the stories woven around the myths portray human passions “, said Miguel Falomir, the director of the Prado Museum, an institution with which the La Caixa Foundation has maintained a strategic alliance since 2011. has translated into seven exhibitions and an educational project, recalled Isabel Salgado, director of the Exhibition and Collection Area of the Caixa.
For his part, the head of the Sculpture Department at the Madrid Museum, Manuel Arias, highlights how artists have been able to give, throughout history, “a plastic form” to this way of “explaining the inexplicable, the passions of gods who acted and felt like men.”
Divided into eight thematic areas, the show kicks off with a bust of Homer and a family tree to guide the audience through the classical pantheon and the duplicity of the names of the gods according to Greek and Roman culture. Beyond the divinities, however, the exhibition also approaches figures such as the three graces or the satyrs, evoked in a painting by Nicolas Poussin; and to the heroes, like Achilles, Perseus or Hercules, with a work of Francisco de Zurbarán that represents one of the twelve works of the hero.
Central themes of mythological tales, such as love and desire or punishment are other areas of the exhibition. Thus, there are compositions made by Rubens and performed by some of his disciples to represent Narcissus or Ariadne, for example.
The Metamorphosis of Ovid have served for centuries as a reference for artists, so it is not surprising that another of the sections is dedicated to transformations and myths such as the abduction of Europe.
The exhibition culminates in the Trojan War, “an apotheosis end,” according to Arias.
The exhibition also includes an audiovisual in which writers such as Raül Garrigasait and Bel Olid; the illustrator Rocío Quillahuaman and the musician David Carabén reflect on the survival of myths in contemporary culture.
Art and myth. The gods of the Prado is complemented by a program of activities for all kinds of audiences, explains the director of Caixaforum Girona, Anna Colomer. Stands out Myths and their contemporaneity, a cycle of humanities to reread myths regarding current and past art and literature; guided tours, a family visit or activities for schoolchildren adapted to three educational levels.