Event
Exhibition “Valeriano D. Bécquer (1834-1870): Los cuadros de costumbres”
Eight paintings that no one had seen together for almost 160 years: Museo del Prado opens a new exhibition.
About this event
Sometimes a small exhibition provides a view into an entire era. This summer, Museo del Prado will bring together for the first time in one space eight works by Spanish painter Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer, an artist who knew how to capture everyday life in 19th-century Spain.
From 13 July to 4 October, visitors will be able to view a cycle of paintings made between 1866 and 1867 on commission from the State. The artist managed to complete only three parts of this ambitious project, devoted to the provinces of Zaragoza, Soria and Ávila; however, these works are now considered among the finest examples of 19th-century Spanish costumbrista painting.
The canvases do not depict great historical events, but scenes of everyday life: traditional dress, local customs and popular figures. Thanks to his extraordinary attention to detail, Bécquer’s works became a valuable visual portrait of 19th-century Spain, able to convey the atmosphere of that era with exceptional vividness.