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Spain has produced a wide variety of artistic titans from Veláquez to Picasso, Goya and Dalí. Whether you are a keen art enthusiast or someone who perhaps appreciates it a little less; these are the 5 most important paintings of Spanish art which everyone should know about.
Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth - Pablo Picasso
Apertura del quinto sello (c. 1608-14) by El Greco
El Greco was defined as one of the most revolutionary Spanish artists. He rejected naturalism in favour of conceptual presentation and expressionism. Best known for his elongated, tortured and religious figures, Apertura del quinto sello (The Vision of Saint John) is among the El Greco works, establishing a sense of drama in Spanish art.
The painting is a fragment from a large altarpiece commissioned for the church of the hospital of Saint John the Baptist in Toledo. It depicts a passage in the Bible, Revelation (6:9-11), representing the opening of the Fifth Seal at the end of time, and the distribution of robes to "those who had been slain for the work of God and for the witness they had borne".
Las Meninas (1656) by Diego Velázquez
Described as "the painter of painters" , Velázquez was a member of King Philip IV’s royal court. His portraiture paintings of various members of the court and other nobles earned him admiration during his lifetime and later. In addition to his portraits, Velazquez produced scenes depicting historical and cultural events. His masterpiece Las Meninas today is proudly exhibited in Prado Museum in Madrid, demonstrating the radical expression and perspective which inspired Spanish artists for 350 years.
Cristo en la Cruz (1627) by Francisco de Zubarán
Piety, chiaroscuro (the treatment of light and shade in painting) and naturalism par excellence from the Golden Age master. De Zubarán worked for monastic orders and the success of his commissions earned him a valuable reputation. A number of his theologically inspired paintings are simple yet are emotionally complex.
The Pilgrimage of San Isidro (1819-23) by Francisco de Goya
Dark, tortured and rammed with expression, Goya drags Spanish tradition toward modern painting. Early in his career, he was celebrated for his royal portraits and in 1779 he won an appointment as a painter to the royal court. After an illness left him completely deaf, Goya’s work became progressively darker and pessimistic. His later painting, murals, prints and drawings reflect his bleak outlook on personal, but more importantly social and political issues.
The Pilgrimage of San Isidro is an example of this. This mural painting was one the many 'Black Paintings' that decorated Goya's house, known as "la Quinta del Sordo".
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) by Pablo Picasso
It goes without saying that the works of Picasso span across an array of artistic disciplines and styles. He was one of the most dominant and influential artists, helping to re-shape the face of painting, introduce abstraction in sculpture and dominant the Cubism movement. He was also a master of Surrealism and Expressionism, with his simple use of distorted forms and bold colours.
Picasso's Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, showing unsmiling prostitutes proved to be the seminal work of modern art.
