As part of the exhibition Masaveu Collection. Spanish art of the twentieth century. From Picasso to Barceló, María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation presents an exhibition from 16 September to 30 November that includes paintings by three prominent 20th-century artists: Juan Manuel Díaz-Caneja Betegón, Benjamín Palencia Pérez and Rafael Zabaleta Fuentes
The Foundation presents a selection of guest artworks, periodically showcasing pieces by 20th-century artists featured in the Masaveu collection. The aim is to give this body of work greater visibility while also bringing renewed dynamism to the main exhibition on Spanish art of the period.
On this occasion, the exhibition brings together works by Juan Manuel Díaz-Caneja Betegón (Palencia, 1905-Madrid, 1988), Benjamín Palencia Pérez (Albacete, 1894-Madrid, 1980) and Rafael Zabaleta Fuentes (Jaén, 1907 – 1960). Landscape is a cultural construct that reflects, at any given moment, the prevailing vision of nature and the relationship people maintain with it. For this reason, landscape painting can reveal the social, economic or political conditions of a particular society at a specific point in history.
In Madrid, landscape painting gained particular prominence during the central decades of the 20th century, closely linked to the idealisation of rural life that was promoted through the country’s reconstruction policies during the years of autocracy. The Castilian countryside—established by Caneja’s work as a symbol of resilience in the literary vein of Machado; villages as havens of the virtues of traditional life, as seen in Palencia’s paintings; or the rugged strength of peasants, transformed into heroes undertaking the harsh labours of the land in Zabaleta’s work—all embody an idea that dominated much of the cultural production of the period.
These images exalt rural life, presenting it as a source of authenticity, goodness and honesty—set in deliberate contrast to life in the city.
Image credits:
Landscape with village (detail). Benjamín Palencia Pérez. 1968. Masaveu Collection © Benjamín Palencia Pérez, VEGAP, Madrid, 2025
