Le donne nell’ecosistema europeo delle arti (1800-1945)

The consideration and appreciation of women artists from 19th century until the end of the Second World War was very limited, although some progress was made little by little. This was a long process shared by Spanish, French and Italian artists, and European artists in general, during which they all had to overcome numerous obstacles until they achieved a certain degree of visibility and unquestionable professionalization. In spite of this, an important group of our protagonists faced all the challenges and, defying many problems, managed to insert themselves into the artistic ecosystem. In recent years, we have devoted ourselves to analyzing this process through two research projects. First, by studying the behavior of Spanish women artists, to whom art historiography had paid little attention, drawing valuable conclusions that affect art history as a whole. And then, establishing a comparative analysis between what happened in Spain and what happened in Europe, in their respective cultural contexts, paying special attention to France and Italy, two of the most significant countries in the development of contemporary art. In this context, the book that the reader has in his or her hands, Women in the European Ecosystem of the Arts (1800-1945) edited by Rafael Gil, Concha Lomba, Cristina Costanzo, constitutes a considerable advance in the analysis of the relations established between women artists active on the Spanish cultural scene and the European artistic space between 1800 and 1945, relations that were more relevant and decisive for the evolution of the training, professionalization and consideration of women artists in Spain, France and Italy than what is indicated by historiography at the present time. For its presentation, the book has been organized chronologically into two clearly differentiated parts, although it is true that both parts include studies on both the Artistic Ecosystem and Artistic Languages, in order to offer a more complete account of the artistic production of women artists on the European cultural scene throughout the period analyzed. The book includes the essays of a group of notable Spanish, French and Italian specialists, from different universities and academic backgrounds, so that alongside experienced authors, there are newer researchers who have nevertheless demonstrated a remarkable quality.