Motherhoods. A diverse perspective Temporary exhibition

Mothers, all mothers. Mothers, full mothers. Mothers, not mothers.

This exhibition brings together the different representations of motherhood that can be found in our collections. It is an invitation to look at them and reflect on all them: divinised, carnal, self-sacrificing, dreamt, empowered, suffering, desired and rejected.

History tells their names. It marks them, sometimes lovingly and meticulously, sometimes with that patriarchal resoluteness that appropriates women's fertility and sexuality, makes them become mothers, and does not allow them to be anything else, and imposes an idea, an image, a destiny. Art portrays them. It draws them by following the lines of the past and confines them within the dictates of society. Ultimately, art is a mirror, but it is also a mirage.

Divine mothers, as are the fruits of their womb. Loving mothers, giving life and overflowing with love. Mothers fighting against imposed, defined, absolute, absurd, uncertain destinies. Bad mothers, with their hearts torn and their bodies broken. Desirous mothers, dreaming of motherhood. Desired mothers, hopeful ideals. Non-mothers deciding, opening roads to freedom for their bodies and souls.

They are all here, present throughout history, and in all histories. And also in the history of the Museum's works.