Configurations of a Cultural Scene: Young Writers and Artists in Madrid, 1918-1930

by Andrew A. Anderson

Overview

Throughout the 1920s, a remarkable number of young writers and artists lived and worked in Madrid, creating an atmosphere of effervescence and an upsurge in creativity that has rarely been equalled. These young people, acquainting themselves with one another within the span of only a few years, came together to form a tightly woven network of both personal and artistic relationships.

In Configurations of a Cultural Scene Andrew Anderson explores this growing community of artists and writers with a focus on how sites of face-to-face interaction in Madrid fostered creative work and forged young identities. Organizing locations into places of sociability, learning, and residence, Anderson offers five case studies that exemplify the significance of these three points of intersection: Rafael Barradas and his tertulia at the Café de Oriente; an artists’ studio located on the Pasaje de la Alhambra; women art students at the Academia de San Fernando who lodged at the Residencia de Señoritas; the artist and writer Gabriel García Maroto; and the close relationship between artist Maruja Mallo and poet Rafael Alberti.

Departing from conventional approaches that foreground the trajectories of individual careers, Anderson privileges the lived experience of artists and writers in his analysis of a rich cultural scene held together by cooperation, exchange, and interpersonal connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780228014805
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	01/15/2023
Series:	McGill-Queen's Iberian and Latin American Cultures Series , #6
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Andrew A. Anderson is professor emeritus of Spanish, University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

Table and Figures vii

Acknowledgments ix

Note on Translations xi

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 Sites of Engagement 13

Chapter 2 Rafael Barradas and the Café de Oriente 40

Chapter 3 The Pasaje de la Alhambra Times Two Manuel Ángeles Ortiz's Studio and Julio Moisés's Academy 93

Chapter 4 Arts Students and the Residencia de Señoritas 126

Chapter 5 The Ubiquitous Gabriel García Maroto 164

Chapter 6 Maruja Mallo and Rafael Alberti Their Circumstances and Relationship 218

Epilogue 258

Appendix 1 Contributors to the Magazine Alfar 261

Appendix 2 Books and Periodical Publications Gabriel García Maroto 263

Notes 269

Bibliography 349

Index 383

Editorial Reviews

Configurations of a Cultural Scene is a major step forward in illuminating the vibrant and often radical cultural activities of the 1920s. Moreover, it demonstrates the crucial importance of collective engagement in fomenting artistic innovation.” Juli Highfill, University of Michigan and author of Modernism and Its Merchandise: The Spanish Avant-Garde and Material Culture, 1920–1930

From the Publisher