Cultural journalism and gender representation: symbolic violence and resistance through the work of painter of Francisca Oliver Copons and Andrés

Abstract

Introduction: This article analyzes gender representation in cultural journalism through the study of the painter Francisca Oliver Copons and the coverage of the 1904 National Exhibition of Fine Arts, within a historical context of the invisibilization of women artists. Methodology: The research was based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, focusing on the chronicle by Rafaela Sánchez Aroca (Alé Apar) published in El Álbum Ibero-Americano. Results: The study revealed the scarce information available about Oliver Copons, exemplifying the historical exclusion of women in the arts, and highlighted the role of female cultural journalism in documenting, justifying, and valuing the participation of seventy-two women painters, while also denouncing the lack of recognition in awards. Discussion: The analysis reveals the emergence of spaces for female mentorship and the role of cultural journalism produced by women as a tool of symbolic resistance in a male-dominated environment. Conclusions: The study emphasizes the persistence of symbolic violence in the artistic field at the beginning of the 20th century and the need to continue historiographical recovery with a gender perspective to rescue the lives and works of women artists who largely remain unknown today.