Socialist Realist Painting in Malaga

No Potemkin Village in Malaga- Socialist Realism at the Russian Museum

After securing an offshoot of the Pompidou Centre to grace the City’s redeveloped port-side promenade, the authorities in Malaga have gone to form an alliance with the Hermitage in St Petersburg, and jointly create El Museo Ruso (Russian Museum) in the vast and splendid building that was once the tobacco factory. Does Malaga intend to become the synecdoche of the world’s leading galleries?

The Ousting of Spain's Moors

The Ousting of Spain’s Moriscos

The last Moorish kingdom in Spain was extinguished in 1492 when Granada fell to the Catholic monarchs. Thus ended an era of 7 centuries during which there was Moorish rule over most, or some, of Spain (an increasingly shrinking “some”).

That historical event coincided (not entirely a coincidence) with a marked increase in nationalistic Catholicism – Spain, or its ruling classes, held their country to be a triumphant Catholic nation, becoming the foremost power in Europe.