{"id":244436,"date":"2011-07-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/el-greco-to-dali\/"},"modified":"2011-07-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-25T07:00:00","slug":"el-greco-to-dali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/el-greco-to-dali\/","title":{"rendered":"El Greco to Dali"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"El<\/a>
(Courtesy SDMA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Time travel through five centuries of Spanish Art<\/p>\n

By Jeff Britton |<\/strong> SDUN Art Reviewer<\/p>\n

Time travel is in vogue. In Woody Allen\u2019s latest runaway hit film, \u201cMidnight in Paris,\u201d his protagonist merrily cavorts with some of the greatest artists of the early 20th century.<\/p>\n

Two of those artists\u2014Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dal\u00ed\u2014are featured in San Diego Museum of Art\u2019s own adventure in time travel: \u201cFrom El Greco to Dal\u00ed\u201d spans five centuries in a rich survey of Spanish art from the Old Masters to the Avant Garde.<\/p>\n

The 64 magnificent paintings are from the Juan Antonio Perez Simon Collection. A native of Asturias, in Spain, Simon has lived most of his life and acquired his fortune in Mexico, collecting thousands of works of art. He also maintains a home in San Diego and due to his love of this city, San Diego will be the show\u2019s only U.S. venue.<\/p>\n

This exhibition connects SDMA\u2019s permanent collection with works on loan from collections such as the Prado in Madrid, the Musee d\u2019Orsay in Paris and the National Gallery in London. It was previously shown at the Musee Jacquemart-Andree in Paris and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec City.<\/p>\n

As you enter the exhibit, you are struck by the wide array of deeply devout Catholic paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries. El Greco\u2019s \u201cHead of Christ,\u201d its translucent eyes heavenward is followed by his mystical \u201cAnnunciation,\u201d which has an ethereal dancing quality to its figures. Borras\u2019 exquisite \u201cVirgin of the Milk\u201d depicts her tenderly nursing the Christ child. Opposite is Tovar\u2019s \u201cThe Divine Shepherdess,\u201d a gorgeous turquoise cloak wrapped around her shoulders bedecked in a wool garment that cleverly matches the innocent animals she tends.<\/p>\n

Murillo\u2019s \u201cSt. John the Baptist\u201d as a young shepherd features a muted scarlet cape over his modest cloak. An amazing oil on wood triptych by Vasquez presents the crucifix-Christ. Other artists like Ribera and Corte are inspired by other Biblical stories in reverent tones of brown, black and white.<\/p>\n

Two large paintings show large public gatherings in Madrid\u2019s Plaza Mayor. A religious proclamation by the king and a bullfighting festival suggest the two poles of Spanish art: the sacred and the profane.<\/p>\n

Forgive me as I scuttle past still-lifes and elegant portraits of Spain\u2019s merry or not-so-merry monarchs. Though quite magnificent, I prefer to focus on the bright pastels of the Valencian artist Sorolla.<\/p>\n

His oxen in the sea study is surpassed only by a lovely little gem of the Basque fishing port of San Sebastian and a larger beauty, \u201cMorning Sun,\u201d a peak at the seaside life of Valencia. Alas, its pendant, \u201cEvening Sun,\u201d was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War.<\/p>\n

I lingered in an entire gallery devoted to Sorolla, obviously one of Perez Simon\u2019s favorite painters. You appreciate how the French impressionists were beholden to him.<\/p>\n

Most exotic is Torres\u2019 \u201cPortrait of a Lady,\u201d her dark penetrating Andalusian eyes full of the gypsy influence of southern Spain. In contrast is Camarasa\u2019s vivid technicolor ode to an elegantly dressed market fair in Valencia.<\/p>\n

Space limitations preclude mentioning so many other worthwhile paintings, so onto the 20th century we go. Soak in the majesty of Catalan painters Picasso (six works, some from his pre-cubist period), Miro (three splendid examples) and an abstract still-life by Juan Gris.<\/p>\n

Topping it off are eight masterworks by the surrealist madman, Dal\u00ed. Ever the jokester, his two-part \u201cGalas Christ\u201d is designed to be viewed through the mirrored box, making it appear to be a triptych. \u201cThe Tuna Hunt\u201d is classic Dal\u00ed, ribboned with blood against alabaster bodies, yet irresistibly beautiful in its overall composition.<\/p>\n

This exhibition is one of the finest presented at SDMA in recent memory and, with San Diego\u2019s Spanish heritage, marked by names like Cabrillo, Balboa and Coronado, it is a fitting tribute to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Greco to Dali\u201d: Great Spanish Masters from the Perez Simon Collection continues through Nov. 6 at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. For more information, call (619) 232-7931 or visit ElGrecoToDali.com.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time travel through five centuries of Spanish Art By Jeff Britton | SDUN Art Reviewer Time travel is in vogue. In Woody Allen\u2019s latest runaway hit film, \u201cMidnight in Paris,\u201d his protagonist merrily cavorts with some of the greatest artists of the early 20th century. Two of those artists\u2014Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dal\u00ed\u2014are featured in […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":226786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"El Greco to Dali","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}