Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Dora Maar, 1937. Oil on canvas, 92×65 cm. Musée National Picasso, Paris.
Great masters and great masterpieces...
The history of Spanish painting can be told by referring to the most important periods, which marked its development and evolution, such as the Gothic, Mannerist, Golden Age and 20th century. These epochs can also be interpreted as a progressive externalization of the cretivity of the said country, because, if in the Gothic period the latter almost passively reproduced French and Italian stylistic features, and in the Renaissance-Mannerist period it took as its model, both the Bel Paese, and the Netherlands, only later, and then with the Spain of the Golden Age and the 20th century, did the existence of a purely Spanish language materialize, externalized through the presence of world-class masters, such as El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya and, later, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Miró, etc. All of these personalities were essentially independent of being associated with a multitude of exponents of a single artistic movement, trend or current to be linked primarily to the expression of a specific country, as was, for example, the Renaissance for Italy and Impressionism for France. Taking Dali as an example, as could also be done for Picasso, he was the only extremely popular Spaniard to be part of Surrealism, but his presence was of extreme importance to the movement, so much so that he was able to universally convey the values of Spanish culture through his prominent role within the aforementioned "trend." Consequently, we could also say that Spanish art, rather than of movements and currents, is made up of influential and individual personalities, who, with clear stylistic features, single-handedly guided the entire expression of a country worldwide. What has been said gives my top ten paintings the role of a guide, within a real narrative of a history of Spanish art made mainly of great masters and great masterpieces.
Top 10
Juan Gris, Portrait of Picasso, 1912.
10. Juan Gris, Portrait of Picasso (1912)
At position number ten, I have chosen to highlight the work of Juan Gris, a Spanish painter and exponent of Cubism known, among other things, for his celebrated Portrait of Picasso, a masterpiece dated 1912, in which the Madrid master immortalized one of the most important artists of the 20th century, appealing to his distinctive integral Cubism, that is, an individual style marked by the most regular fracturing of forms, where geometric figures are bound to diagonal structures, aimed at creating almost crystalline semblances. Speaking of the relationship between the two painters, however, Gris arrived in 1906 in Paris, where he met Picasso and Braque, joining the development of the Cubist current, which identified him, just six years later, as a disciple of Pablo. In fact, Juan's point of view takes its cue from the analytic cubism of the Andalusian, referring to his deconstruction and simultaneous point of view of objects, but bringing back a more systematic and crystalline geometry, rendered, in the portrait in question by a fragmented head, where the neck and torso are broken down into various planes and simple geometric shapes, organized within a compositional structure governed by diagonals, all made explicit through the use of a palette of cool tones of blue, brown and gray. Finally, the stylistic features of Portrait of Picasso give rise to a work aimed at immortalizing the effigy as a painter, since the subject bears a palette in his hands, a detail that, like the inscription "Hommage à Pablo Picasso, clearly makes us think how Gris esteemed the innovator of Cubism par excellence.
Joan Miró, The Harlequin's Carnival, 1924/1925. Oil on canvas, 66 cm × 90.5 cm. Albright–Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York.
9. Joan Mirò, The Harlequin's Carnival (1924-25)
Joan Mirò's canvas, dated between 1924 and 1925, is occupied by a multitude of festive hybrid figures, who, half human and half animal, are sometimes anthropomorphized, as they possess human anathomical parts, which have been associated by the Spaniard with object forms. This carefree atmosphere invites the viewer to get lost in the celebration, even suggesting that he or she take the time to imagine a melody, which serves as a backdrop to the liveliness of the figures. From a purely art-historical point of view, however, the work is part of Miró's Surrealist period; in particular, it predates the time when Breton drafted the movement's manifesto, although in Joan's masterpiece the psychic automatism later promoted by the aforementioned French poet was already well concretized. In fact, The Carnival of Harlequin gives form to the fantastic and surreal visions of the imagination, which the artist wants to externalize by associating them with some element of reality, which, taking another meaning, are transformed giving rise to new visionary interpretations. In this sense, it should be made explicit that what has been rendered by the painter is the dimension of the unconscious, often narrated through the depiction of a stepladder, which, recurring in the work of the master and also present in the painting in question, stands to represent a springboard, aimed at starting from reality to go beyond, that is, toward the imagination.
El Greco, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, 1586. Oil on canvas, 480×360 cm. Church of St. Thomas, Toledo.
8. El Greco, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586)
My top ten could not be credible in its function of summarizing the key figures of Spanish art if it did not mention El Greco, Greek painter, sculptor and architect, as well as one of the most important figures of the Spanish Renaissance, often considered to be the first master of the Golden Age. The masterpiece in question, namely the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, dated 1586, allegorically depicts the event made explicit by the title itself, having as its main subject the deceased lord of the city of Orgaz, who was miraculously buried by Saint Stephen and Saint Augustine, who descended from heaven exclusively for the occasion. This theme, inspired by a legend from the early 14th century, was rendered by the painter in full compliance with the contract drawn up with the parish church of Santo Tomé in Toledo, Spain, the place where the painting is preserved to this day. In any case, despite the faithful fulfillment of the patrons' requests, El Greco introduced some modernizing elements, such as a number of features attributed to a customary 16th-century funeral procession, the vestments of the two saints, as well as the depiction of eminent Toledo figures of his time. This mode of interpretation was intended to further the purely didactic purpose of the oil, which, in accordance with the doctrines of the Counter-Reformation, pursued the intent of promoting the veneration of saints and good deeds for the salvation of the soul.
Francisco Goya, Saturn devouring his son, 1821-1823. Mixed media mural transferred to canvas, 143.5 cm × 81.4 cm . Museo del Prado, Madrid.
7. Francisco Goya, Saturn devouring his son (1821-1823)
The masterpiece created between 1821 and 1823 makes concrete a gruesome vision: Saturn bites his son's body as if it were animal prey, which, partly covered by rivulets of blood, now appears deprived of its head, while the arm lies in the father's mouth, all surrounded by an indefinite, dark background, which places the extreme act at the center of attention. Regarding the interpretation of this chilling composition, part of the Black Paintings cycle, works made by the artist for the walls of his own home on the banks of the Manzanares River (Madrid), it could evoke, both the conflict between youth and old age, where time appears to devour everything, and the personification of Spain at the time, a country capable of eat its children through bitter wars, revolutions and absolutism. Adding to the above is a further meaning attributable to the masterpiece, which is simply linked to a more obvious desire to depict the human condition in modern times. Although the interpretive doubt remains, it is clear how the painting represents the extreme culmination of the Black Paintings, characterized, in addition to the dark and menacing tones, by a thematic thread related precisely to the figure of Saturn, traditionally associated with despair and old age, rendered in earlier masterpieces, which, like Rubens', certainly appear more conventional, as well as far removed from the Freudian madness of the protagonist of Goya's work.
Francisco Goya, The Naked Maja, 1790-1800. Oil on canvas, 97 cm × 190 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
6. Francisco Goya, The Naked Maja, (1790-1800)
A young nude model gazes with shameless confidence at the viewer as she appears sensually reclining with her hands crossed behind the nape of her neck, a point on her body in whose proximity her dark curly hair also finds its place, falling freely to the sides of her face, which is surrounded by her full, flushed cheeks. Such a vision finds its place on the surface of a sofa covered with green velvet, where the two lined cushions on which the woman rests are also arranged, as well as the sheet that underlies the lower part of her body. The daring masterpiece in question known, in addition to its audacity and mischief, for innovatively, as well as scandalously, showing the linea nigra that connects the vulva to the navel, could depict, both the painter's friend, namely the Duchess de Alba, and her lover Pepita. What is certain is that the canvas represents the most explicit profane nude in the Godoy collection, a military to Spanish politician of great renown, who possessed a rich collection regarding the aforementioned genre, including masterpieces from all over Europe, as well as Velázquez's famous Venus Rokeby. Precisely in this context, it is necessary to specify how in the 18th century nude paintings were actually prohibited in Spain, as contrary to Christian doctrine, so much so that Godoy also commissioned the clothed version of the aforementioned masterpiece, in order to conceal the more explicit one.
Pablo Picasso, Les demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907. Oil on canvas, 243.9 cm × 233.7 cm. Museum of Modern Art. Acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest, New York City.
5. Pablo Picasso, Les demoiselles d'Avignon (1907)
Why is Les Demoiselles d'Avignon an indispensable masterpiece of art history, that is, one of those works, which, in the event that it had never been made, the course of creative inquiry known to us would surely have taken other paths? The answer lies in the fact that the painting is considered to be Picasso's first cubist work, which, made in the master's African period, subsequent to the pink period, was probably inspired by the vision, which the artist derived from frequenting a Barcelona brothel, located on Carrer d'Avinyò. In addition, it is good to highlight how the painting in question is the result of more than a hundred studies, within which the artist also included the presence of some male figures, a fact that leads to speculate how the subject could represent a sort of memento mori, in which the painter wanted to warn against the dangers of sex, namely the then popular syphilis. Regarding the description of the masterpiece dated 1907, it depicts five girls, who, probably citing the Venuses of the classical tradition, offer themselves to the viewer's eye by brazenly displaying nudity. Finally, as far as their faces are concerned, they represent a deliberate caesura with the previous artistic tradition, in that they are embodied in the intensity of gazes, both direct and recognizable, and more elusive, always characterized by deformity, intended to lead back to the example of traditional African masks.
Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808, 1814. Oil on canvas, 268 cm × 347 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
4. Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808 (1814)
Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808 (1814): in a setting shrouded in darkness, where only a lantern illuminates the gloom of the evening, a beam of light comes to illuminate with greater intensity a rebellious destitute peasant, who, with great dignity and courage, accepts that he must sacrifice his existence in the name of freedom. Similarly, suffering and in extreme distress, the figure of the crucified Christ has often presented itself within the narrative of art history, who in this profane case is surrounded by his fallen or frightened comrades, who have before them a firing squad composed of a group of French soldiers under Napoleon's command. In fact, the painting is explicitly meant to depict the resistance of Madrid's troops to the French army, which took place during the 1808 occupation of the Spanish War of Independence. Also of similar thematic interest turn out to be other works by the artist, namely the series of engravings titled The Disasters of War, where the master gave rise to a concrete externalization of his grief over the invasion of Spain by Napoleon's troops. In regard to the style of the 1814 masterpiece, however, the latter's raw drama cannot be considered purely Romantic, although it is undisputed how its sensitive emotional externalization appears akin to the work of the painters of the movement in question. Similarly, the painting distances itself from the idealization of beauty pursued, both by Romanticism and Neoclassicism.
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656. Oli on canvas, 320,5 cm × 281,5 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
3. Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas (1656)
One of the best-known scenes in art history, which I do not want to simply describe by venturing into banality, took place in Diego Velázquez's studio, as the painter was granted by King Philip IV of Spain, around 1650, to use the main hall of the Real Alcázar in Madrid as his atelier, a space in which the sovereign often used to spend time observing the master at work, so much so that many believe that Philip broke the royal laws of behavior, even befriending the painter. Speaking of the masterpiece in question, it depicts only ostensibly a court portrait, as it was designed to become a propaganda manifesto, aimed at making explicit how art can effectively reproduce reality. In any case, the intricate composition is ripe for multiple interpretations and questions, including, for example: why do the sovereigns appear in the mirror? It is likely that these figures were intent on spying on the posing scene in the half-light, while light comes from the background, where Queen Nieto's assistant, whose arrival on the scene remains somewhat enigmatic, finds its place. Finally, of great relevance is the presence of the artist himself within the work, a figure probably intended to indicate his intention to celebrate himself, his presence at the court of Philip IV, his role, as well as his desire to externalize his personal conception that painting turns out to be the superior among the arts.
Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory, 1931. Oil on canvas, 24 cm × 33 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
2. Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Many people remember the "soft" clocks, that is, with an almost liquid consistency, present in The Persistence of Memory, although few know that these were inspired by observing the elongations of Camembert cheese, which Salvador admired exposed in front of a source of heat. In fact, it was precisely the Spanish master's eccentric brain that was able to transform such an ordinary vision into a masterpiece, aimed at giving concrete form to the passage of time, which, although measurable, remains quite variable when considered in relation to human perception, that is, to the states of mind that make it, if joyful faster, when painful slower. Moreover, according to Dali, memory also exhibits a similar functioning, in that it is easy to remember things that interest us, even if they are distant, while it is highly likely to forget close moments that are quite trivial to us. In a nutshell: the clocks painted in The Persistence of Memory would stand precisely to symbolize that temporal condition uncontrollably associated with states of mind as well as memory. Finally, still on the subject of the masterpiece, it is worth highlighting how this, one of Dali's best-known works, was put on display by art dealer Julien Levy in his Nweyork gallery in 1931, a fact that was followed by public and critical interest in the Catalan master.
Pablo Picasso, Guernica, 1937. Oil on canvas, 349.3×776.6 cm. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
1. Pablo Picasso, Guernica (1937)
Even in the case of the work that occupies the podium, I want to eschew the simplest and most common description of the painting in order to focus on its stylistic features, the result of Pablo's approach in the mid-1920s to the Surrealist point of view, which at that time was mainly expressed through the creation of interiors with still lifes, objects and musical instruments. It was these traditional themes that gave rise to innovation, so much so that in this same period Picasso became aware of the multiple ways of breaking form, as well as the presentation of composition from multiple perspectives, that would later animate the Cubist "revolution." In any case, however, the artist, who considered art an instrument of externalization of the self, rendered this figurative investigation through the construction of claustrophobic spaces, probably inspired by the sad events related to the contemporary and anxious First World War. In addition to the aforementioned intimist research, the Spanish master's work of the period was also marked by the constant presence of the female figure, understood as an inspirational muse capable of taking the form of the many turbulent relationships undertaken by the master. In addition, in the very years preceding the creation of Guernica, Picasso focused on the symbolism conveyed by the female body, research that culminated, along with the preceding ones, in the creation of the masterpiece in question. In fact, Guernica represents the culmination of Picasso's artistic endeavors, in which all the visual features that made him famous were incorporated, so much so that the work cannot be understood at all without analyzing, even briefly, the preceding and necessary stages in the development of his visual language. In any case, the painting turns out to be best known for the fact that, by depicting the horrors of war, it has become the symbol par excellence of the struggle against all forms of nefarious conflict.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
