The exhibition was part of the events commemorating the 100th anniversary of Luis Cernuda's birth. It followed not only the evolution of his poetry, from Perfil del aire (1927) to Desolación de la Quimera (1962), but also his intellectual and professional activities as literary critic and playwright, his relationship with other members of his generation, his leisure time, his passion for the sea, and his love life.
 
A detailed chronology, written by James Valender, guided visitors through the show. The journey began with his childhood in Seville and ended in 1963, the year of his death in exile, in Mexico. The viewer learned about his first encounter with poetry and how he met fellow writers Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Federico García Lorca, Concha Méndez, Emilio Prados, and Manuel Altolaguirre. It also reflected his passionate participation in the educational project of the Misiones Pedagógicas during the Second Republic. There were many unpublished documents from his personal library and archives, now kept in the Residencia de Estudiantes, plus material from other public and private archives. Manuscripts, photographs, autographed first editions, personal items and a selection of images of the countries that welcomed him as an exilé, as well as contemporary art works dedicated to Cernuda were on display.

 

The exhibition was complemented by an audiovisual presentation, produced by Javier Rioyo and José Luis López Linares, with 12 poems recited by Cernuda himself played over images of the poet and the events mentioned in the poems.