Spanish Treasures on Display at Guggenheim

From now through March 28, 2007, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City presents "Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History." This first historical overview of Spanish painting to be seen in New York presents approximately 140 painting from Spanish masters including El Greco, Diego Velazquez, Francisco de Zurbaran, Jose de Ribera, Bartholome Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Goya, Juan Gris, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso. Among the highlights include: Francisco de Zurbaran's "Saint Hugh in the Refectory" (ca. 1655) in a rare appearance outside of Spain, El Greco's "The Vision of St. John (ca. 1608-14), and nearly 35 works by Picasso.

This panoramic overview of the history of five centuries of Spanish art deviates from typical historical surveys by presenting the material in thematic chapters which reflect the peculiar context that defines the taste and ideological criteria upon which the Spanish School was artistically forged in the late 16th and 17th century right up to the Picasso and the avant-garde generation. These fifteen sections of the exhibition are titled: Monks, Bodegones, Landscapes, The Domestic World, Women in Public, Weeping Women, Virgins and Mothers, Nudes, Childhood, Monstrous, Knights and Ghosts, Ladies, Crucifixions, The Fallen, and Flyers.

Within each section of the exhibition, works from different periods appear side by side, offering often radical juxtaposition that cut across time to reveal the overwhelming coherence of the Spanish tradition. By viewing these works thematically rather than chronologically, art enthusiasts can see the connections and affinities between the old masters and the modern era, noting how despite their revolutionary aesthetic leaps, artists such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso were nourished in traditional models that found their source in the Golden Age of Spanish painting.

The museum is opened Saturday to Wednesday from 10AM until 5:45PM and Friday from 10AM until 7:45PM. The Museum is closed on Thursdays and Christmas Day. Admission and complimentary audio tour is $18.00 for adults and $15.00 for Students and Seniors (65 years +)with valid ID. Children under 12 are admitted free if accompanied by an adult.