The old historic town of Cordoba with its narrow alleys and small squares is awash with museums and galleries in the old houses of former rich and artistic families – it would take a whole weekend to explore them. The newest is unashamedly modern on the inside, while respecting traditional proportions and the historic urban context on the outside.
The Centro de Arte “Rafael Boti” is a new cultural centre with three floors of galleries around a modern interpretation of the traditional courtyard, one floor being a display of the works of Rafael Boti, the others used for temporary exhibitions of contemporary art.
Boti was born in Cordoba in 1901 and is one of Andalucia’s important 20th century artists, with work that was more romantic and traditional, celebrating the culture of Andalucia and Spain, than his near contemporary, Joaquin Peinado from Ronda.
In Ronda there is a link between Latin America and Spain and the paintings of Joaquin Peinaldo: The heirs of the last Aztec king Moctezuma settled in Ronda and their coats of arms can be seen at the entrance to the 19th century palace which still bears their name but is now an art gallery primarily focussed on the work of the Spanish artist Joaquin Peinaldo.
The palace chapel has a further link: a commemorative plaque indicating that the last of the Moctezuma family were laid to rest here, including María Teresa Holgado Vázquez de Mondragón y Moctezuma, the founder of the Caja de Ahorros de Ronda savings bank, one of the predecessors of Unicaja whose Foundation brought these paintings to Ronda.
Why Ronda? In 1898, it was the birthplace of Peinado who became one of the leading 20th century Andalusian artists, following in the tradition of Cezanne, Picasso and other artists he met when he lived in Paris in the 1920′s.
Two different galleries, with different architectural solutions working within a historical context and having a core exhibition of Andalusian artists.