Maruja Mallo: paitings and hats.
Maruja Mallo was one of the most important Galician painters in the 20th century. Her real name was Ana María Gómez González. She was born in Viveiro (Lugo), in 1902 and had 13 brothers and sisters! She travelled to Madrid and studied Arts. In Madrid she met important Spanish artists as Salvador Dalí (one of the most important painters in Spanish history) or Federico García Lorca (a very important poet). They became friends and worked together in some projects. She was a very modern woman and she loved freedom. She never got married and travelled around the world to be a better artist. Maruja was a member of the group “No-hats”, this was a group of women who decided not to wear a hat in public. This may sound ridiculous, but it was illegal in that time!
She lived in Paris for a long time and she met Picasso. She also lived in New York after the Spanish civil war. Her paintings are surrealist, she paints strange things and things you can see in your dreams. Her style is divided in two parts. In the first part, paintings are full of colours and represent magic scenes full of life. An example of this is the painting "La verbena". In the second part of her life, paintings are grey and sad, she uses dark and cool colors as black, grey or blue. This second part of her paitings are related to the Spanish Civil War. One example of this is the painting "Antro de fósiles". Maruja’s paintings are amazing, you can visit them at Reina Sofía museum in Madrid.