Three women stand in the foreground, wearing flowing dresses and elaborate headdresses. The yellow-brown landscape in the background is barren, only a few people or horses can be seen. The sky is covered with dark clouds. In 1903, Ignacio Zuloaga (1870 – 1945) painted this work entitled “Mis Primas” (German: My Cousins). The Spanish artist’s pictures can currently be seen in the exhibition “Myth of Spain” at the Munich Kunsthalle. The presentation traces the artist’s career in around 80 works and also places it in the contemporary historical context.
Ignacio shaped the clichéd image of Spain in Germany around 1900, particularly through the paintings of his cousins in traditional clothing. Today, the artist, who was born in the Basque Country, is hardly known in Germany. In “Myth of Spain” Zuloaga will now be “re-examined in all its complexity,” announces the organizer. Topics include his relationship with Germany, with Spanish intellectuals and his relationship with the Franco regime. The exhibition on Theatinerstraße runs until February 4th.