This the exhibition aims to raise awareness of women painters in the late nineteenth century who dedicated their career to painting the flowers abundant in Catalan Modernisme yet who are so little known. We refer to the women artists who participated in the women's exhibitions at Barcelona's Sala Parés in the years 1896, 1897, 1899 and 1900.
In 1896, Sala Parés organised the first exclusively female show, as had been held in Chicago shortly beforehand. A wide array of women artists took part with the foremost aim of becoming known to the public.
These women's shows at Sala Parés became the turning point from which each artist could choose and pursue her career, a starting point for "normalising" these painters' artistic professionalism.
The most recurrent theme in such shows was flowers, which even merited a specific treatment for the still life. This was due to the fact that the women who enrolled at the School of Fine Arts, La Llotja, were prohibited from attending classes with nudes, hindering them from being able to choose a professional career in figurative or portrait painting.
These artists took the opportunity that society offered them and "used" flowers as a manifesto for their art. Gifted in composition and skilled in colour, some of them achieved notable results. In contrast, others pursued more irregular careers, while a large number disappeared from the art scene after marriage.
Curated by Art Historian, Consol Oltra, the show presents these women's works, some of which were exhibited at Sala Parés over a century ago.