WHEN we recall Spain, usually the image that takes shape in our minds is interwoven with Andalucian culture and traditions.
Flamenco, bullfighting, delicate mantillas and guitars have become symbols of Spain in the eyes of people around the world.
But how did the culture of one region become a way to represent a whole country?
The exhibition Olé!, that was recently inaugurated in Museo Carmen Thyssen Malaga, looks at the history behind this change.
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It began to gather pace in the 19th century, when more foreign travellers and artists became interested in Andalusia.
At the time, many European visitors saw the region as strange and very different.
They linked it with freedom, pleasure and a carefree way of life.
But this image was not shaped by foreign visitors alone. Spanish artists also helped create and spread it.
Sometimes they showed the beauty and traditions of the region.
Sometimes they linked these traditions to national identity.
At other times, they challenged stereotypes that had become widely accepted.
By bringing together works from different periods and styles, the exhibition follows how these views changed over time.
The artists include Francisco Goya, Ignacio Zuloaga, Joaquin Sorolla and Pablo Picasso.
In different periods, they showed Spanish society, traditions and culture in their work.
They are joined by Antonio Saura and the art group Equipo Cronica, whose works belong to a more recent period in Spanish art.
The work of Pilar Albarracin, a contemporary Spanish artist, brings the exhibition up to the present day.
The collection includes paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and sculptures.
The range of works shows how the image of Andalusia in art has changed over the past two centuries.
Beauty and national pride, tourism and tradition, modern life and the past, reality and fantasy all appear in different ways.
The exhibition is curated by Barbara Garcia Menendez and Alberto Gil. It is open at the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Málaga until February 21, 2027.
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