José Aparicio's 'The Year of the Famine in Madrid' returns to Prado Museum after 150 years
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Apr 30
José Aparicio's 'The Year of the Famine in Madrid' returns to Prado Museum after 150 years
6 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Apr 30
The painting, exiled since 1874, is now the inaugural work in the Prado's new 'A Work, a Story' exhibition series.
Curators Miguel Falomir, Celia Guilarte Calderón de la Barca, and Carlos G Navarro aim to highlight the painting's political, social, and artistic significance, inviting visitors to reflect on changing tastes and historical context.
Once the museum's main attraction, Aparicio's work fell out of favor as Spain's politics and art evolved, overshadowed by Goya and others, but now serves as a case study in shifting cultural values.
After 150 years in exile, will this controversial painting be banished again?
How did Goya’s art directly challenge this painting’s powerful political message?
What celebrated artwork of today might be considered 'bad taste' in the future?
What other political masterpieces are currently hidden away in museum storage?
Can art once deemed 'bad taste' ever truly reclaim its canonical status?
How did a national symbol become a national punchline in just 50 years?