Feminitas, from the Latin femininity, is a characteristic of the human species that art has sought to represent almost obsessively for centuries. Depending on the context, whether secular or religious, femininity and the female body have been idealized, transfigured, divinized, or sexualized. Often, it has been associated with the stereotyped idea we have of the feminine gender, as an emblem of fertility, grace, purity, beauty, or sensuality. Like many aspects of humanity, femininity has been confined to canons established by society and has evolved across different historical periods or political and cultural contexts.

The fascination with this theme, one of the fundamental topics in art history, may be justified by the complexity that defines the feminine and its multiple interpretative facets. Since ancient times, the representation of women has inspired—and continues to inspire—generations of artists, while simultaneously captivating and intriguing the viewer.

This exhibition brings together thirty works that present three Ecuadorian perspectives on femininity. The three Ecuadorian painters, Jaime Zapata, Jorge Perugachy, and Miguel Betancourt, present their vision of femininity and express it through different styles and approaches. These three artists draw references from art history, both iconographically—such as the Virgin Mary—and in terms of the use of color typical of European avant-garde movements, incorporating indigenous or traditional Ecuadorian elements. The warm color palette of Jaime Zapata, his realism, and the mastery with which he portrays the naturalness of poses and gazes, evoke imaginaries of timeless tranquility. In contrast, Jorge Perugachy’s portrayal of resilient femininity is emphasized by marked contours and decisive colors, associated with an anti-plasticity of Byzantine evocation that recalls the ancestral. Miguel Betancourt’s fascination with European currents, inspired by dreamlike Fauvism, is attractively blended with pre-Hispanic references, creating an unprecedented syncretism.

Thanks to these multiple and personal elements, the exhibition becomes an unprecedented collection of Ecuadorian interpretations of femininity: there are powerful women, dignified women, goddess women, and women as metaphors or symbols of what lies beyond mere representation.

– Ludovica Cadario