If you've been hoping for a classic European paintings show, Milwaukee Art Museum has got something for you.
The museum, which has had an excellent slate or more modern exhibitions of late, opens "The Brilliance of the Spanish World: El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán" to the Baker/Rowland Galleries, on Friday, May 2.
Those galleries are, of course, located in the Quadracci Pavilion, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
The first big European art show since 2023's "Art, Life, Legacy," will include work by Francisco de Zurbarán, who painted MAM's own "Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb," and runs through July 27.
Among the exhibition's highlights, with descriptions from the museum, are:
- "Saint Jerome" by El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), ca. 1600. This painting portrays the quintessential early Christian saint holding a crucifix, with books, a skull, and an hourglass before him – all in the artist’s recognizable Mannerist style. (Pictured at left at the top of this article.)
- "Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares" by Diego Velázquez, ca. 1625-1626. This magisterial portrait depicts one of the most influential figures of his day and emphasizes the vast power he wielded.
- "Saint Emerentiana" by Francisco de Zurbarán, ca. 1635-1640. This painting portrays the saint holding a book and stones – the instruments of her martyrdom – in a likeness marked by Zurbarán’s mastery of sculptural form and the depiction of elaborate textiles.
- "The Wedding at Canna" by Nicolás de Correa, 1696. This is an enconchado that illustrates the biblical story in which Jesus miraculously makes wine from water at a wedding he attends. A unique art form developed in the Spanish colonies in the late 17th century, enconchados are paintings on wood panels inlaid with shells and iridescent mother-of-pearl.
- "The Prodigal Son Among the Swine" by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1656-1665. This painting depicts the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son in which a young man begs for forgiveness after squandering his inheritance. This subject was especially relevant as Southern Spain experienced widespread suffering due to plague and famine during Murillo’s lifetime.
Included among the more than 50 works in the show are pieces by artists working in the Spanish Americas.
“The Zurbarán continues to be a centerpiece of the museum’s collection, awing visitors since its acquisition in 1958,” said Tanya Paul, MAM's Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art when the show was announced in February.
“I’m delighted to bring to our audiences an extraordinary exhibition, which includes paintings by Zurbarán as well as amazing artists visitors may not have encountered before, that will build upon and expand the stories we’re able to share about this significant period in Spanish art history.”
The five exhibition galleries are populated with portraits of popes and counts and the well-to-do, but also with saints and Madonnas with child, as well as many religious scenes as you might expect.
I was especially fond of the El Greco gallery, with a handful of works by the Greek painter who worked in Italy before settling in Spain and becoming much in demand, which is why some of the paintings here are from his studio but not his own hand.
Because his works looks so modern even to us now, he was not entirely beloved in his time and place as some disliked his style, which was avant garde for its day.
Look at his St. Luke and St. Jerome, as well as his Holy Family. They're unlike anything else in the show.
The Velázquez room is similarly populated with a mix of works by the master and by his studio as he, too, was much in demand and his work was beloved for centuries, inspiring even later painters like Manet and Picasso.
The master's soaring portrait of Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (pictured at right) is notable as the subject's family owned the Zurbarán St. Francis painting that is one of MAM's most popular works.
There are a number of Zurbarán works in the show, too. But beyond the three "superstars" spotlighted in the name of the show there are some other really interesting works, too.
Don't miss the pair of trompe l'oeil still life paintings by Marcos Fernández Correa, which are painted in a quasi-3-D style that almost leaps off the canvas. These are apparently the only two known works by this painter.
Fray Alonso López de Herrera relatively small "The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception," painted on copper, is astonishingly lovely (pictured below), and there are fine Baroque works by Bartolome Estaban Murillo and Luis de Morales, too.
There's much more, too, so you should go and see for yourself.
"The Brilliance of the Spanish World: El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán" was curated by Hispanic Society Museum & Library Director and CEO Guillaume Kientz, and the presentation here was organized by Paul.
The exhibition will be augmented, as always, with a slate of programs and events, including a lecture about the art and life of El Greco by Spanish Baroque art scholar and curator Rebecca Long on Thursday, May 15.
See the full slate of events here.
“We’re honored to partner with the Hispanic Society Museum & Library to bring this exhibition of Renaissance and Baroque treasures to the Midwest,” said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
