Zaragoza (EFE).- Henri Cartier Bresson defined photography as “the spontaneous impulse of a perpetual visual attention that captures the moment and an eternity”, and that is precisely, 65 images of iconic photographers of the 20th century, and also of the 21st, is which brings together the exhibition ‘Decisive moments. Julián Castilla Collection’, which can be seen in the Goya Museum in Zaragoza.
There are a total of 62 selected images by 40 artists among the more than three hundred that the Julián Castilla collection accumulates. There are works by Cartier Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Man Ray, Vivian Maier, Robert Capa or Alberto Korda, among the foreigners. And among the national photographers, the presence of the recently deceased Carlos Saura stands out, but also Agustí Centelles, Ramón Masats, Chema Madoz and Alberto García Alix.
The exhibition, which can be seen until June 4, begins chronologically in 1902 with the image ‘The Hand of Man’, by the American Alfred Stieglitz and practically continues to the present day.
The General Director of Fundación Ibercaja, José Luis Rodrigo; the director of the Goya Museum, Charo Añaños, and the collector Julián Castilla have presented this new exhibition this Monday.
Julián Castilla has explained that the entire fund of his collection, which began 30 years ago, is in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Villanueva de los Infantes (Ciudad Real) because it is a private collection with a public vocation.
Vanguards, fashion and humanism
Although there are many currents in photography, Castilla has pointed out that his collection is based on the avant-garde of the early 20th century, fashion and humanism, which lived its most relevant moments in the Spanish civil war.
He also recalled that since 1980 the criteria were established for a photograph to be considered original, which can have 3, 5, 7 or 11 copies, although it also exposes some that due to their size are “unique photos”.
In the different images, practically all of them in black and white and only four in color or in part of them, the great variety of themes and authors are glimpsed in which historical moments of the 20th century are reflected, such as the notable differences that existed between the deep Spain and that of the big cities, daily affairs or fashion.
Presence of Carlos Saura
The filmmaker and photographer from Alto Aragon Carlos Saura, of whom they have remembered that his camera was always with him, has five images in which he portrays everyday scenes from the Spanish post-war period such as ‘Children begging for alms’, ‘Traveling nuns’ or the return to Spain by the filmmaker from Calanda Luis Buñuel.
Also included is one of the most representative photographs of the Civil War, such as ‘The death of a Republican militiaman’ signed by Robert Capa, a pseudonym under which Gerda Taro and Endre Friedman were found.
Another notable part is the presence of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí or Albert Giacometti, who were portrayed by different authors, in most cases friends.
The exhibition encompasses different movements and photographers, some of them from the Catalan school or from the most recognized photographic agency worldwide such as Magnum, as is the case of Cristina García Rodero, who was the first Spaniard to become part of the agency and that is represented with ‘The confession in Saavedra, Lugo’ from 1981.