The Thyssen Bornemisza museum presents a new exhibition fully dedicated to women masters or Maestras (in Spanish) from October 31st, 2023 to February 4th, 2024. This show explores the great talent of women artists that haven’t received the same recognition as their fellow male contemporary artists.

We have always perceived art history through a patriarchal gaze, almost as everything else but in this matter this is specially palpable, just by seeing how many great artists have been undervalued by history for gender reasons. That's why this re-thinking of the historical perspective of art is truly positive. The exhibition “Maestras” presents a journey through the work of women artists from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, through eight relevant scenes in the path of women towards their emancipation.

The exhibition “Maestras” presents a journey through the work of women artists from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, through eight relevant scenes in the path of women towards their emancipation.

At this exhibition, we can find Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelica Kauffmann, Clara Peeters, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, María Blanchard, Natalia Goncharova, Sonia Delaunay or Maruja Mallo among other women artists who broke moulds with creations of undoubted excellence. This artists were celebrated in their lifetimes and are now, through this show, receiving renewed recognition in response to their erasure from the art-historical account.

This artists were celebrated in their lifetimes and are now, through this show, receiving renewed recognition in response to their erasure from the art-historical account.

The show is made up of almost 100 works that include paintings, sculptures, works on paper and textiles, the exhibition is curated from a feminist viewpoint by Rocío de la Villa and it presents a survey from the late 16th century to the early decades of the 20th century through eight contexts within women’s path towards emancipation.

The show is made up of almost 100 works that include paintings, sculptures, works on paper and textiles.

The exhibition statement holds that starting from the contemporary notion of sisterhood, it focuses on groups of female artists, patrons and gallerists who shared values as well as favourable socio-cultural and theoretical conditions despite the patriarchal system. Employing a structure principally based on the conjunction of historical periods, artistic genres and themes, the exhibition reveals how these artists approached important issues of their day, established their positions and contributed new iconographies and alternative gazes.

Starting from the contemporary notion of sisterhood, it focuses on groups of female artists, patrons and gallerists who shared values as well as favourable socio-cultural and theoretical conditions despite the patriarchal system.

Through this show, the museum states itself as “feminist”, a label that has induced some criticism, but without any doubt this exhibition opens the path into a new perspective of art history where we can perceive another perspective in which women artists can recover their place in art history.