When the First World War ended in November 1918, until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Spain experienced its second Golden Age: a period in which culture reintegrated itself into the international scene. An age of splendour, of international venture and of contributions to modernity, trapped between two moments of upheaval which saw Spain isolated from more advanced countries.
As people and institutions carried out their work, their correspondence increased and their contact lists grew. The Junta para Ampliación de Estudios and its institutions contributed to this: the Residencia de Estudiantes, with it’s shining plethora of lecturers; it’s female branch, the Residencia de Señoritas, which continued to strengthen its collaboration with the International Institute for Girls in Spain; the Centro de Estudios Históricos and its magazine Revista de Filología Española or the Instituto Nacional de Física y Química, the building of which was financed by the Rockerfeller Foundation.
Moreover, new and strong bridges were built between Spain and America through the Institución Cultural Española de Buenos Aires, new collaborations with the Hispanic Society and through the creation of the Instituto de las Españas at Columbia University. Spanish creatives travelled to Paris and New York, attracted by the inspiration stemming from visitors, contacts and publications that were key for their creative process like the Revista de Occidente. As a result, the most important cultural happenings were felt on both sides of the Atlantic, allowing distinguished groups of scientists, creators, humanists and teachers to create an intense network of personal and institutional connections over these years.
María Blanchard, Composición cubista-Naturaleza muerta verde con lámpara, 1916-1917. Colección LL.-A.