The free exhibition Picasso in Mingote’s work is one of those -not so usual- examples in which the retrospective of an artist is approached in relation to another: as if following that practice of cubism by which the same reality is represented from different perspectives, to those we knew so far of the cartoonist is added that of his admiration for the painter from Malaga.
More than a compilation of references to Picasso through Mingote’s drawings -although there are also some- the curators of the exhibition, Carlos Villanueva and Juan García Cerrada, wanted the concept that vertebrates the show to be “the defense and vindication that Mingote makes throughout his life of Picasso,” Villanueva explains.
In this way, the influence of the Malaga-born artist can be appreciated not only in aspects such as the stroke, the color and the creative conception of Mingote, but also -and above all- in “his intelligence, his sense of humor and his irony to show little by little things about Picasso, so that we could see that he existed, although in Spain he had been ignored”.
In that sense, among the most vindictive drawings that the public will find in the exhibition hall , there are four or five in which he is especially critical of the idea that France wanted to “adopt the artist as if he were their own”.
An exhibition in two acts
The exhibition is structured around two acts. The first one covers the 40s until the 70s, when Picasso and, later, Franco died. At that time the painter was already living in exile and would not return to Spain.
Mingote, who published in La Codorniz and already admired Picasso at that time, made this clear for the first time on February 20, 1949, with a caricatured portrait of the painter’s work that he passed off as a mockery when in fact it was quite the opposite. And he writes: “Among modern painters, none as great as Pepasso…”. From then on, he will make references to the artist on multiple occasions and also in different media.
In the second act, which starts with the death of the dictator, there is a 180º change in the treatment and consideration given to Picasso, who becomes at that moment what Mingote had always claimed: a cultural reference.
So much so that, as detailed in the text for the exhibition catalog, in the last interview Mingote gave to Antonio Astorga in ABC he said that his “great painter is Picasso, of course, but Picasso is the great draftsman, above all. What Picasso revolutionized was drawing, not painting…”.
Dates and schedule of the exhibition
The exhibition, which can be visited since September 10 at the Municipal Exhibition Hall of Buitrago del Lozoya (Calle de la Tahona, 19), will remain open until December 7, 2025. The schedule is as follows:
- Tuesday to Friday: from 11:00h to 13:45h and from 16:00h to 18:00h.
- Saturdays: from 10:00h to 14:00h and from 16:00h to 19:00h.
- Sundays and holidays: from 10:00h to 14:00h
Free exhibitions this fall
Picasso in the work of Mingote is one of the free exhibitions that can be visited this fall in Madrid. In addition, there is an exhibition on Art Deco and another on the universe of Paco Roca, among others. You can find out more in this article.
