El Barroquista has been talking about art on social media for a few years now with his now well-established memes. Since the first one went viral, he hasn't stopped thinking about how to make art not just a subject for the enlightened few, but something for everyone, as it should be.
In his book “Another history of art”, a title originally published in October 2021, the Spanish-language edition proposes a simpler way of approaching these topics and invites readers to approach this discipline without prejudice and enjoy it with complete freedom.
In this stimulating essay, the historian, whose real name is Miguel Ángel Cajigal Vera, opens the doors to his personal museum, spanning nearly 264 pages. Inside, works by artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Teresa Margolles, Piero Manzoni, and Fiona Banner, alongside those of Guo Xi, Frida Kahlo, Artemisia Gentileschi, and the so-called "great names in art," welcome readers with their fascinating and highly personal stories.
Anyone who has visited a museum or browsed through a book on art will be well aware of the level of bombast that resides in these spheres. It's common to hear phrases like, "We are facing the great masterpiece of the 20th century" or "This artist changed the course of art." Well, this conception of artistic creation is what El Barroquista seeks to overthrow with his work, fostering rapport and learning, and making art, as already mentioned, more accessible to the general public.
Regarding the use of social media to promote access to art, the historian points out that these spaces have changed the way we consume everything. "We are only at the beginning, because more and better social platforms will come in the future that will expand what the current ones can do. This has caused The control of the artistic narrative is lost, which until the arrival of the networks was solidly controlled by museums and institutions, along with the media.“It’s an exciting change with uncertain consequences,” he said.
With the subtitle “It’s okay if you don’t like Las Meninas”In this book, El Barroquista proves why he's one of the greatest art promoters in Spain. His Instagram account has thousands of followers, and the impact of his initiative was so fruitful that the publishing group Penguin Random House tapped him for this publication, which began selling in Spain and has now crossed the pond to Latin America.
The book, available at several of the group's branches, has been making a relatively strong showing in Colombian bookstores. While the name El Barroquista is well known, the book sells more for its title than for its author. After all, that's how it should always be. In the end, it does its job: to make us understand that, in reality, it's perfectly fine if we don't like Las Meninas.
Continue reading:
English 
Spanish