The need to revise classic painting today serves as a trail to understand how the outlooks that we had and have articulate still on some key political factors, especially understanding that the work and its processes are already paused, or even, frozen in the matter of the object, which don’t have more to give unless they’re physically intervened by other characters. This will never happen to a Picasso, Rembrandt, Manet or Delacroix. Let’s say, there’s no way to have carte blanche to intervene the works that are, as of today, classics of painting.

We’re then left with manipulating the look if we can’t manipulate the work, recognizing that everything is invented in all arts, but that our explorations, interpretations and perspectives are the ones that change. Once a work of art is accomplished, they unleash it to the world and, facing the world, it doesn’t do more than sustain itself in a long corridor of mirrors which self-reflect facing oblivion. There isn’t a mistaken interpretation but there are different resources with every generation to deal with the works of art in another way, and manipulate them with discourses.

The exhibition of Delacroix at the Caixa Forum is an interesting chance to get to know closely the work of this important painter. As well as some classic pieces, we have to mention a series of engravings on the story of Faust. In these images, Delacroix unravels the story of Dr Faust and his efforts to conquer Margaret. Maybe these are some of the most interesting pieces of the whole exhibition, because they show with great detail the precision of the drawings of Delacroix and his huge symbolism. Also, the exhibition at Caixa Forum presents different notes from bigger paintings; exercises in progress, drawings, stains, paintings and volumes where you can get to see closer and better the processes of the artist.

In this sense, maybe the mistake of the exhibition is that they only present annotations without their original counterparts. Having a perspective of the progress of creation of the artist is undoubtedly essential to get to know his interests and aesthetics better. However, without the end product of these exercises, it’s a bit difficult to have better understanding of the aforementioned process.

Any exhibition, museum or gallery, is an ideal space to understand the mechanisms of contemporary art, classic art or ancient art. The disposal of the works in the space also calls for attention on the interests of the museum, the loans made, their origin and the history of the object itself and its translations, which in these cases is pretty important to take into account. For more information on the exhibition, visit the official Madrid Caixa Forum webpage by clicking here: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforummadrid/caixaforummadrid_es.html

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Madrid and enjoy its great range of galleries and museums. Delacroix is one of the most important French romantic artists of the 19th century, don’t miss this chance of getting to know his work better.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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“Floating World” is the title of an exhibition at the Caixa Forum which presents work by photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue until October 3.  More than 230 works show the different stages and subjects that this referential twentieth century photographer developed throughout his life.

Jacques Henri Lartigue was born in Courbevoie, near Paris in 1894 and lived almost a century.  He began his visual quest at age 8 when his father, a wealthy industrialist, bought him his first camera.

From that moment on, Lartigue kept a diary photographs and brief texts. His diary became an extraordinary document that shows us how a generation lived and changed and tracked the development of fashion, sports, leisure and lifestyle.

The images collected by this master photographer reflect the rapid transformation of customs and the appearance of new social modes, and at the same time, search for the enduring, timeless moment of daily life found in the small details of an entire era. Lartigue captured the life around him, exalting happiness and the joy of life thanks to the revelation offered by photographic language.

Until the mid-’60s, this extraordinary photographer was a total unknown. But after an exhibition at the MOMA, the strength of his images quickly made him one of the most important photographic artists of the last century.

If you’re enjoying the sun and beach while renting apartments in Barcelona do not forget to stop by the CaixaForum from Monday through Sunday for free entry to this exhibit, whose motivating and subtle images will make travel through time.



“Photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimes one photograph, or a group of them, can lure our sense of awareness”. That quotation by American photojournalist, war photographer and artist [1918 – 1978] highlights some of the forces of reportage photography: its value as a historical document for information and power to change the looks and the realities. For the fifth consecutive year, the Centre for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) presents the World Press Photo 09, an important event that makes us aware of current affairs around the world. Another event you can not miss is the FotoPres09 at Caixa Forum, where you will have another opportunity to reflect on contemporary society and its conflicts.

Today, being a press photographer is a way to not only portray the world crisis, the conflict in Georgia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Kenya, the tsunami in Burma, immigration, social inequality, gender violence but also the most unusual and poetic realities of this world. Other things are changes in sexual behaviour in our society, the faces of some athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, an intimate Barack Obama, luxury and many other things never before seen. The talent of some of these professional photojournalists will leave you speechless.

This year shows the amazing work of Spanish photojournalist Emilio Morenatti which won the FotoPres 09 first prize. Along with eight other professionals, nine portraits of Pakistani women victims of gender violence will be exhibited: they have been disfigured by an acid attack. Some were operated on up to 25 times, some of them dream of regaining their sight or just to have a decent education. These women posed with great courage in front of the camera, dressed in colour on a neutral background to denounce what they are going through. Marta Ramoneda, Morenatti’s companion, shows us another reality in the Pakistani society: the world of transsexuals. The work of Argentine Walter Astrada won him second prize with the violence in Kenya, Alfonso Moral – third prize with the Lebanese conflict, Mikel Aristregi – alcoholism in Mongolia and Lourdes R. Basoli for the situation in Caracas, Venezuela. Those professionals who were “here and now” either received scholarships or were awarded for these images whose main goal is to raise awareness about the realities of our world.

The World Press Photo 09 exhibition shows the 200 winning entries in the first annual international competition in press photography. Nearly 6,000 professional photojournalists submitted their work for the competition, originating from 124 countries along with some 100,000 images. The exhibition will tour 100 cities around the world. Do not forget to visit FotoPres09 with its 135 stunning photos that will occupy room 2 of the Caixa Forum until 21 February. This is also an event not to be missed.

If you’re a little sensitive, we suggest you go accompanied to both exhibitions because there are some distressing images. To finish off your stay in Barcelona, the best option is to rent apartments in Barcelona which are both cheap and comfortable.

Do you have a favourite place building you love in a particular destination? There are beautiful cities around the world which differ from the others by its magnificent architecture. This is the case of Madrid.

The Caixa Forum is another fantastic piece of architecture from those wacky folks at Herzog & de Meuron. Based around the Central Electrica de Melodia, an old electrical power plant, it is now a cultural centre that holds exhibitions, musical concerts and conferences. The interior is futuristic in blazing Clockwork Orange-style white, while the outside is a wonderful game of two halves: the red, clay-coloured side of the main building and the extraordinary wall garden on the other side.

One of the aspects of the facelift Herzog & de Meuron gave the Central Electrica de Mediodia in 2008, was removing the stone base that originally supported it giving the building an eye-popping, levitating look that really makes it stand out.

Caixa Forum is a Spanish foundation with different branches around the country, especially in Catalonia: Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Lleida and Tarragona. It defends equal opportunities for all kinds of people, fighting against inequalities and social injustices. It struggles for social and professional inclusion of disabled people, for the comprehensive care of elderly patients, the insertion of immigrants, the social rehabilitation of prisoners, for the education of children, for scholarships and affordable housing for young people.

It also presents a host of cultural activities: among others, music, theatre, art, and so on. Now the Caixa Forum Madrid hosts the “Palladio the architect (1508-1580)”exposition from October 2009 to 17th January 2010.

Contemporary of great Renaissance artists like Raphael and Michelangelo, Palladio practiced architecture as a profession of special significance. He democratized the architecture to vindicate the supremacy of domestic structures, pointing out that any building could be beautiful without the need to use expensive materials.

Through more than 200 works, this exhibition traces Palladio’s career since his time in Padua as a teenage stonemason until the time he became an intellectual and favourite architect of the Venetian state, aristocrats and religious leaders. It also emphasizes the commitment of the architect with humanism, which fuelled his determination to forge a new architectural language appropriate to the age. The exhibition explores the impact he has had on later generations of architects like Arata Isozaki, David Chipperfield, Richard McCormac, Toh Shimazaki or Jiménez Torrecillas, among others.

Don’t miss such an incredible exposition in one of the most amazing buildings in the Spanish capital. Rent Apartments in Madrid for the best accommodation.