SANTANDER.- A significant moment in Spanish art history unfolded recently at the Centro Botín as the complete series of five paintings known as "The Verbenas" by acclaimed artist Maruja Mallo were exhibited together for the first time in 97 years. The reunion, part of the major exhibition "MARUJA MALLO: Mask and Compass. Paintings and Drawings from 1924 to 1982," marks a rare opportunity to see these vibrant depictions of popular Spanish festivals as a unified body of work, last shown together in Madrid in 1928.


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The final piece to arrive, El Mago / Pim Pam Pum (1926) from the Art Institute of Chicago, completed the set. Its delayed arrival had left a temporary void on the exhibition wall since the show's opening on April 12, a space held in anticipation of this historic reassembly.

El Mago / Pim Pam Pum itself is a fascinating composition, juxtaposing two fairground attractions. In the background, a pimpampum game features figures resembling the "armed Moors" often seen in the press during the final stages of the Rif War. However, the theatrical backdrop and foreground wall lend the scene the air of a puppet show rather than a simple game. The foreground introduces the enigmatic figure of the magician, also an astronomer in other "Verbenas," and notably, a representation of the artist or poet, bearing the recognizable features of writer Ramón Valle-Inclán, complete with glasses, beard, and missing left arm. Like Valle-Inclán, Mallo used these theatrical elements to embed social commentary within her work.

Mallo's "Verbenas" series emerged within the 1920s art movement that advocated a "return to order," seeking to counter the perceived dehumanization of the avant-garde by engaging with "popular art." This term, favored in the 1930s over terms like folklore or ethnology which were becoming politically charged in totalitarian states, represented an aesthetic and political stance prior to the fall of the monarchy.

Defined by Mallo as "magical creations of exact measurements," the "Verbenas" capture the spirit of carnival, placing ordinary people – regardless of race, class, or gender – at the center. They playfully ridicule traditional symbols of "black Spain," such as bullfighting, the Civil Guard, and superstition, showing "the people using mythology and saints as a pretext for collective enjoyment," according to the artist. The verbena also serves as a symbolic truce, a space where diverse peoples and landscapes converge, and where science and magic intertwine, reflecting the dynamism and simultaneity of modern urban life.

The series first gained prominence in 1928 when exhibited at the Revista de Occidente, a leading cultural publication directed by José Ortega y Gasset. Its immediate success was attributed to both the magazine's reputation and the fresh, vital nature of Mallo's compositions, which offered a stark contrast to prevailing pessimistic portrayals of Spain.

The current exhibition at Centro Botín, running until September 14, 2025, features over ninety paintings, drawings, writings, and photographs from Mallo's personal archive, tracing her career from early magical realism to later geometric and fantastical works. Following its presentation in Santander, the exhibition will travel to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, where it will be on view from October 7, 2025, to March 16, 2026, allowing a wider audience to witness the historic reunion of "The Verbenas."


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