The Frederic Marés Museum breaks down prejudices with religious art with 'Emotions. Images and gestures of the past and present'

The Frederic Marés Museum presents, from November 30 to May 26, the Emotions exhibition. Images and gestures from the past and the present that can be seen from November 30 to May 26, 2024. The exhibition brings together sculptures from the 12th to the 16th century from the collection in dialogue with works by 20th century artists such as Lucio Fontana and Antoni Tàpies or from the XXI like Bill Viola. The museum thus invites the visitor to recognize and be carried away by temporary emotions and to break prejudices with religious art. Thus, a reflection is presented on how an art far removed from our time can acquire a new life by putting it in relation to contemporary art. The relationship and transit between sadness and joy is the central theme of the initiative.

The director of the Frederic Marès Museum, Salvador Garcia, has explained that the exhibition wants to give "a new meaning" to the museum's sculptures. "We can find a Lucio Fontana next to a Pieta from the 16th century or the video art of Bill Viola with a mother god", he gave as an example.

Marès uses the common thread of emotions that can be recognized in all works of art. "Through the expository discourse and medieval mystics, they allow us to see the emotions of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance also in contemporary works," he explained.

Garcia specified that the sculptures on display are religious and Christian but that "many interpretations" can be made of them. "We can find timeless emotions and, even if you don't recognize yourself in a belief, you can be moved by seeing the emotions represented in the works," he pointed out.

The route wants to claim the emotions represented in the sculptures, those that the faithful of the medieval era had in front of the images to which they prayed and those that the visitor can have in contemplation and on the proposed route. "It's about articulating a discourse between tradition and contemporaneity," he concluded.

Museu Frederic Marès. Foto: © Pep Herrero

The exhibition, curated by Dra. Victoria Cirlot, has the areas pain, wound and glory around the figure of Mary. Each section has a display with other works of art, such as manuscripts and medieval paintings, which contextualize the images and gestures of the pieces on display. The speech is accompanied by quotes and poems from medieval mystics such as Juliana de Norwich or Ángela de Foligno.

Among the pieces that the visitor can see are three maresdedeu that belong to two Calvaries and a Holy Burial from the museum collection. These sculptures dialogue with the video Observance (2002) by Bill Viola, which shows a flow of people expressing their emotions in front of an event that remains invisible to the viewer's eyes.

The wound that Christ received when he was on the cross was the object of particular devotion in the Middle Ages. For this reason, two pietías are on display, a crucified Christ and a mother god from the collection that can be associated with works by Antoni Tàpies and Lucio Fontana. Also with Bill Viola's video Study for Emergence (2002).