Camões: vida, obra y pervivencia en la cultura hispánica

Exhibition at the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid devoted to Camões, the Portuguese poet of Os Lusíadas, and to the mark he left on Castilian-language literature over the centuries.

The exhibition, curated by Aurelio Vargas Díaz-Toledo, traces the life and work of the Portuguese poet Camões and his presence in Hispanic literature. It is organised into four sections: the first places the author in Renaissance Portugal, shaped by maritime voyages and Atlantic expansion, and the second shows his readings of the classical Greek and Latin poets, of the Italian humanist tradition and of the great Peninsular poets, which marked his lyric poetry, his theatre and, above all, his epic verse.

The third section is the heritage core of the route, with a selection of works by Camões from the holdings of the Biblioteca Nacional de España itself. The pieces include first editions of Os Lusíadas, its early Castilian translations, theatrical works and poetry cancioneros, as well as the commented edition by Manuel de Faria y Sousa, published in Madrid and regarded as key to consolidating the author's literary prestige.

The final section follows Camões' footprint in writers such as Rosalía de Castro, Francisco Villaespesa and Jorge Luis Borges, and closes with the contemporary view of Antonio Muñoz Molina, who gave one of his novels the title of a famous sonnet by Camões. It will be of interest to anyone who wants to get to know the author through his printed sources and his reception in Castilian-language literature.