The inauguration of the 27th edition of the Ages of Man in the Church of Santiago and the Collegiate Church of Santa María in Villafranca del Bierzo, the most important exhibition of sacred art in Castilla y León and one of the most important on the national and international scene, was attended by King Felipe VI with a magnificent and numerous popular reception, and by two living painters with their paintings among the works in the exhibition “Hospitalitas: the grace of the encounter”.
One of the two living painters is the Iraqi artist, based in Spain, Hanoos Hanoos, well known to Atalayar readers, who had the opportunity and the honour of explaining to Felipe VI his painting of the Tower of Babel from the series of the Thousand and One Nights, which hangs on the walls of the Collegiate Church.
Hanoos has succeeded in having an artist of Arab origin repeat in such an important cultural event as the Ages of Man, having been recognised and congratulated by the King of Spain, just when his work the Tower of Babel can be admired in a permanent exhibition in the illustrious Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
The Iraqi painter, who this year received the CIHAR 2023 Gold Medal, was able to talk with the authorities who accompanied Felipe VI, such as the President of Castilla León, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, and the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente.
As published by the Arab-Spanish Intercultural Circle, this recognition not only reaffirms his position as an artist of international relevance, but also underlines the importance of cultural inclusion and diversity in the contemporary art world.
His recent exhibition in 2024, ‘Shahrezade and the Arabian Nights’ held at the Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid, highlights his ability to connect literature and painting, thus proposing an intercultural artistic journey that fascinates and educates at the same time.
His work continues to arouse the interest of important institutions such as Casa Árabe and the International Institute of Arab and Muslim World Studies, consolidating his position as a fundamental voice in the dialogue between East and West through art.
The CIHA writes that Hanoos’s work covers a wide range of themes: cities, landscapes, still lifes, sports, figures, portraits and even bullfighting all feature in his paintings.
Hanoos’ painting is an exquisite fusion that reflects both the majesty of Islamic art and the vibrant essence of contemporary culture. He is a painter who has left an indelible mark on the Spanish art scene and beyond, capturing the attention of an international audience through a unique and captivating visual language.
“Hospitalitas: the grace of encounter
The King began his visit in the Church of Santiago where, after a descriptive introduction by the curator of the exhibition, Ángel González, an immersive video about the exhibition was projected on four screens placed on the walls of the Church, which introduces the visitor to the theme of this edition in a striking way, addressing that hospitality throughout history and how it is seen today.
Afterwards, he moved on to the Collegiate Church of Santa María, where he toured the exhibition “Hospitalitas: la Gracia del Encuentro / A Graza do Encontro” in Spanish and Galician.
Hospitality is the common thread on this occasion, a virtue that is exercised with the pilgrims who come to both Villafranca del Bierzo and Santiago de Compostela. “Hospitalitas” refers to welcoming the stranger, the foreigner, the stranger, the one who is not from our home, inviting us to be hospitable to the other, and illuminating hope and expectation in a final hospitality.
That is why this edition takes a journey through different religious elements linked to it and to the Camino de Santiago, which unite the capital of Compostela and the “little Compostela”. A story focused, especially, on images and texts that reflect the hospitality throughout history.
The opening ceremony of the 17th edition of Las Edades del Hombre ended with Felipe VI meeting the attendees and greeting the municipal corporation of Villafranca del Bierzo.
Unmissable event in Villafranca del Bierzo
The Collegiate Church of Santa María houses 110 pieces from different places, such as the Diocese of Astorga, the Archdiocese of Burgos, Valladolid, the Diocese of León, Zamora and Orense, which has donated to Villafranca for this occasion an important piece of Chinese-Philippine alabaster that is kept in the town of Celanova.
You can also see “La visión de San Francisco” by El Greco, which comes from the Diocese of Cádiz, and statues by the prestigious sculptor Luis Salvador Carmona. The exhibition is divided into four main rooms (linked to the letter, allegory, moral sense and anagogy), plus the Prelude and the final testimonies.
The first space is the Prelude, a place where all the forms of hospitality are summarised, both corporal and spiritual, which the Christian tradition gathered from the teachings of the Gospel, popular belief and catechisms.
All the pieces that can be seen in this space of almost 90 square metres are grouped together under the title “Works of Mercy”.
The tour continues through four rooms. The first is called “Littera Gesta. All part of a story”, and is made up of images related to acts of hospitality and hospitable people.
The chosen sculptures remind us that human history, mythological stories and the lives of great men are built on deeds and actions of hospitality.
The story continues in the second room, “Allegoria Credere, What am I to believe?”, with allegories as the protagonists. Once again, figures are shown, but now the visitor is invited to stop before them to observe what lies behind what he is contemplating, the image of God that transcends what is narrated.
The third room in the Collegiate Church of Villafranca is entitled “Moralis Agere: How should I act? The idea is to bring the visitor closer to hospitality seen from the perspective of Christian duty. It adds the history of salvation, the history of God’s hospitality.
The moral reading of the images in this space presents the other as the face of God, an icon of God himself. What the images narrate in the first part of the exhibition and imply about God in the second part, is given concrete form here in the moral command to care for others as for oneself.
“Hospitalitas” closes in the fourth room, “Anagogia Tendere – What can I expect?”, in a journey that leads to the homeland, the “heavenly Jerusalem”. Here we see images of the first and last paradise, of the first and last hospitality, amidst which the consequences of original sin are experienced.
