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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

After controversy, the Gelman Collection takes center stage at new Spanish museum

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • The Gelman Collection, including works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, opened as the centerpiece of the new Faro Santander museum in northern Spain after months of controversy in Mexico.
  • Mexican officials had questioned the temporary transfer, while Mexican law allows the works to be displayed abroad but prohibits their sale because they form part of the country’s heritage.
  • Spain’s King Felipe VI attended the opening of the museum, a renovated historic Santander bank headquarters designed by David Chipperfield’s team.

The paintings of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and other leading Mexican artists have become the defining feature of a new museum in northern Spain, after months of controversy over their temporary departure from Mexico.

The Gelman Collection opened on Monday at Faro Santander, a museum created inside the historic headquarters of Banco Santander facing Santander Bay. The opening was attended by Spain’s King Felipe VI and British architect David Chipperfield, whose team transformed the building into a more than 10,000-square-metre art space.

Thank you, Mexico

· Ana BotínSantander’s president thanked Mexico during the opening ceremony for Faro Santander.

“Thank you, Mexico,” Santander president Ana Botín said at the ceremony. She recalled that the bank arrived in Mexico in 1954, during a “vibrant” period for the country, and said that “today it is that same energy making the return journey to discover this art in Cantabria.”

as the law says

· Claudia SheinbaumMexico’s president insisted in public speeches that the paintings would return to the country.

The collection’s move to Spain became contentious after Banco Santander reached an agreement with the Zambrano family in January to manage it. In Mexico, the arrangement was interpreted as a disguised removal of works protected by national law. The collection includes 18 works by Kahlo, along with works by Rivera, María Izquierdo, Rufino Tamayo, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. It also contains photographs by Graciela Iturbide and Guillermo Kahlo, making it, according to the article, the most important collection of 20th-century Mexican art.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum referred to the issue in several public speeches and insisted that the paintings would return to Mexico “as the law says.” Mexican legislation permits private collections to display works abroad, but not to sell them because they are considered part of the country’s heritage. The controversy led the museum’s organizers to delay its planned June opening. Faro Santander director Daniel Vega said the works would be cared for and preserved “with absolute knowledge and respect.”

with absolute knowledge and respect

· Daniel VegaThe Faro Santander director described how the collection would be cared for and preserved.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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