An overview of Spanish painting focusing on the key artists of the last five centuries, 'Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: The Wound of Time' challenges the traditional reading of Spanish art, which separates modern art from its historical precedents. By presenting side by side works by the great Spanish masters -- El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso -- the book shows affinities between works from different periods, rather than emphasising historical continuity in a chronological display. A fluid thematic organisation uncovers distinctive Spanish treatments, both formal and cultural, of subject matter from history, religion, mythology, and everyday life.
Featuring over 120 paintings dating from the 16th to the 20th century, the fully illustrated catalogue accompanying the exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, includes an insightful essay by Francisco Calvo Serraller, Chair of Art History, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and former director of El Museo del Prado, presenting a contextualised history of Spanish painting. The catalogue also includes biographies of the artists, a selected bibliography and complete entries for the works in the exhibition.
