Women Illustrators

Dibujantas, pioneras de la ilustración [Women Illustrators], is a title that refers to the acclaimed I Salón de Dibujantas that took place at the Lyceum Club Femenino in 1931, and it shows the works of the main female illustrators who collaborated with Blanco y Negro and ABC from 1891 to 1990’s. The result is a selection of 136 drawings by 40 illustrators (chosen from the 105 women artists who worked for these publications). It is a unique opportunity to discover part of the hidden treasures in the Colección ABC and to underline the role of women in Spanish Art.

Dibujantas aims, on the one hand, to shed light on the career and life of all the selected artists, showing their works to the public and being a starting point for future lines of research that may highlight their valuable contribution to the world of illustration.

On the other hand, through the gaze of the illustrators, we appreciate the times they witnessed. The exhibition is divided into four stages covering a century of Spanish illustration. It begins with a section that brings together those artists who “Opened the way” at the dawn of the 20^th century.  We appreciate Mme. Gironella’s style depicting local customs and manners, as well as the cosmopolitan vision of Maroussia Valero. The second section shows the artists that in the twenties and thirties received the nickname of “The Moderns”. A very wide range of trends unfolds, an unquenchable thirst for international modernity, a reflection of the turbulent period between the wars. This moment is represented by: Laura Albéniz, a.t.c. (Ángeles Torner Cervera), Piti Bartolozzi, Marga Gil Roësset, Maruja Mallo, Delhy Tejero or Viera Sparza. Then, we come across “The postwar”, during the fifties and sixties. They bring a fresh, cheerful and cosmopolitan air: Ana María Badell, Coti (Lucrecia Feduchi), Menchu Gal or Xelia (Elia Martínez Fernández). The exhibition concludes with a section dedicated to the illustrators of the “New Airs” who, from the seventies onwards, reflect a moment of great social and technical changes in Spain. Here we find Aitana Martín, Adriana Exeni or Mar Ferrero (the youngest in this exhibition that personifies the era of the Internet and technological advances).