In 1914 a group of women emerged who fought with courage, intelligence and determination for women’s rights in a Spain that doomed them to mediocrity. A few years later their legacy allowed their most outstanding followers (1927) to break free of their corsets – not only of the actual garment but also of the intellectual and social ‘corset’ that restricted them to their role of wives and mothers – and they began to take part unapologetically in the intellectual and cultural life of 1920s and 1930s Spain.
Their indefatigable struggle and their talent made them the most important and influential generation of women thinkers and artists in the cultural history of Spain. The names of this very interesting group are a mixture of teachers and pupils belonging to the so-called generations of ‘14 and ’27. Neither could have existed without the other as, unlike with men, they were united in their struggle for equality and shared spaces, ideas, experiences and creative processes. Victoria Kent, Margarita Nelken, María de Maeztu, Clara Campoamor, María Lejárraga, María Goyri and Carmen Baroja were the central figures of a female awareness that restored women’s say and dignity; they were the teachers, friends and mentors of María Teresa León, Concha Méndez, Maruja Mallo, Ernestina de Champourcín, Margarita Gil Röesset, María Zambrano, Ángeles Santos, Josefina de la Torre and Remedios Varó.
The outbreak of the Civil War put an end to these years of creativity and freedom. Most of the women had to seek exile or remain and come to terms with their role in a Spain that silenced women once again. There was no generational exchange, there were no more places to meet and their art was no longer exhibited. Their voice was silenced, their memory forgotten. With the reestablishment of democracy, the names of their male colleagues – members of the Silver Age – were revived and praised, whereas those of these women remained in oblivion and they lost their rightful place in the official account of such an important period of history.
The documentary produced by INTROPÍAmedia in collaboration with AC/E sets out to recover the legacy and memory of these women artists and thinkers, stressing its determining influence in Spain’s cultural and social history, in order to vindicate their rightful place as members of the Silver Age in Spanish art and literature.
Their indefatigable struggle and their talent made them the most important and influential generation of women thinkers and artists in the cultural history of Spain. The names of this very interesting group are a mixture of teachers and pupils belonging to the so-called generations of ‘14 and ’27. Neither could have existed without the other as, unlike with men, they were united in their struggle for equality and shared spaces, ideas, experiences and creative processes. Victoria Kent, Margarita Nelken, María de Maeztu, Clara Campoamor, María Lejárraga, María Goyri and Carmen Baroja were the central figures of a female awareness that restored women’s say and dignity; they were the teachers, friends and mentors of María Teresa León, Concha Méndez, Maruja Mallo, Ernestina de Champourcín, Margarita Gil Röesset, María Zambrano, Ángeles Santos, Josefina de la Torre and Remedios Varó.
The outbreak of the Civil War put an end to these years of creativity and freedom. Most of the women had to seek exile or remain and come to terms with their role in a Spain that silenced women once again. There was no generational exchange, there were no more places to meet and their art was no longer exhibited. Their voice was silenced, their memory forgotten. With the reestablishment of democracy, the names of their male colleagues – members of the Silver Age – were revived and praised, whereas those of these women remained in oblivion and they lost their rightful place in the official account of such an important period of history.
The documentary produced by INTROPÍAmedia in collaboration with AC/E sets out to recover the legacy and memory of these women artists and thinkers, stressing its determining influence in Spain’s cultural and social history, in order to vindicate their rightful place as members of the Silver Age in Spanish art and literature.
Trailer Las Sinsombrero from Intropía Media on Vimeo.
