The exhibition The Hours of the Sun, by Bleda and Rosa —National Photography Award winners in 2008— arrives at the Monastery of Yuste (Cáceres) following its display at the Royal Collections Gallery (Madrid). In this way, the images return to the place where they were created, offering visitors a unique experience of discovering the work in the very location where it was conceived, juxtaposing the Monastery of Yuste itself with the artists’ vision of this historic site.  

The exhibition explores the sun as a symbol of time, life, and history, captured through images taken at the Monastery of Yuste (Cáceres), the final retreat of Emperor Charles V.

At the opening event held today, the artists explained that the project “establishes an analogy between the solar cycle and the life cycle of nature and humanity, evoking a time when the sun was a guide, a measure, and a symbol. It marked the hours, the day, the night, the seasons, and the passage of time.”

Also participating in the event were Ana de la Cueva, president of Patrimonio Nacional; María Santoyo, director of PHotoESPAÑA; and Joaquín Mollinedo, general director of Institutional Relations, Communication, and Brand at ACCIONA, who all emphasized the value of art as a creator of collective consciousness and highlighted the importance of promoting awareness of places of such historical and artistic significance as the Monastery of Yuste.

The exhibition runs through October 27 and will be displayed in various rooms of the Monastery, inviting visitors to rediscover it through a contemporary perspective that highlights the interaction between historical elements, living nature, and the sun.

During its time in Madrid, the exhibition attracted a total of 130,000 visitors over three months and is expected to become an additional draw for visitors to the Monastery of Yuste in the coming months.
 

COLLABORATION

This exhibition is part of the three-year project Field Journals, a collaboration between ACCIONA, PHotoESPAÑA, and Patrimonio Nacional aimed at encouraging leading national photographers to highlight the natural heritage of the Royal Sites.

Last year, Field Journals invited Javier Vallhonrat to focus his lens on “water in the Royal Palace of La Granja,” resulting in a visual reflection on the intersection between nature and human ingenuity, embodied in the palace’s iconic ornamental fountains.

PHotoESPAÑA, Patrimonio Nacional, and ACCIONA also collaborated in 2022 to jointly promote an exhibition of the recently deceased Sebastião Salgado, held at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

ACCIONA and PHotoESPAÑA have maintained their partnership since 2017, under the premise of jointly making visible an artistic perspective on human impact on the environment.

PHotoESPAÑA is an annual photography festival held in Madrid since 1998, recognized internationally in the visual arts world both for the quality of the works and artists in its official section and for its cultural initiatives promoting the cultural and aesthetic value of photography in society.