San Telmo Museoa: Goya's Disasters Meet Motherwell's Iberia

San Telmo Museoa in Donostia-San Sebastián presents 'Negro Goya, negro Motherwell. Ochenta desastres y un abismo', an exhibition pairing Francisco de Goya's 'The Disasters of War' with Robert Motherwell's 'Iberia' (1958). Curated by María Bolaños, the show runs from May 16 to September 27, 2026. The exhibition is anchored by San Telmo's recent acquisition of Goya's complete series of 80 etchings, created between 1810 and 1823, depicting the brutalities of the Napoleonic invasion. Goya's work is presented as a universal meditation on violence and human suffering, transcending its historical context. Motherwell's 'Iberia', on loan from Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, was inspired by the artist's trip to Spain and his encounter with Goya's 'Black Paintings'. The abstract canvas, dominated by black, serves as an emotional and moral counterpoint to Goya's figurative narratives. The exhibition also includes photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, audiovisual materials from Dedalus Fundation Archives and the Archivo Fundación Juan March, a catalog from the 1958 exhibition 'La nueva pintura americana' at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Madrid, and a volume of the Encyclopédie from San Telmo's collection. The curatorial concept traces a journey from explicit violence to inner contemplation, from figuration to abstraction, reflecting on the persistence of violence, memory, and art's capacity to articulate the unspeakable.