Madrid’s Prado museum branded sexist in open letter to Spain’s culture ministry

AN open letter to Spain’s culture minister has accused the Madrid Prado Museum’s first exhibition since lockdown of misogyny.

The Uninvited Guests exhibition explores how art bought by the Spanish state between 1833 and 1931 depicted women.

But Prado had to pull one of the paintings from the exhibition after it embarrassingly emerged that the work had been misattributed to a male rather than female artist.

Uninvited Guests has also been criticised by academics and artists for perpetuating the sexism it has aimed to expose by hanging more works by male than female artists.

In an open letter to Spain’s culture ministry, critic Rocío de la Villa alongside seven other experts said the Prado had failed in its role as a bastion of equal society.

However, curator Carlos G Navarro defended the exhibition, saying Uninvited Guests was always meant to provoke a conversation about the museum’s past and future.

Uninvited Guests will run at the Prado until 14 March 2021.