"Espana: Artists Celebrate Spain" To Open At Muhlenberg's Martin Art Gallery
“España: Artists Celebrate Spain” will open in the Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Wednesday, March 12. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 12 noon-9 p.m. The show will run through April 18.Friday, February 21, 2003 03:40 PM
“España: Artists Celebrate Spain” will open in the Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Wednesday, March 12. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 12 noon-9 p.m. The show will run through April 18.
American writer and hispanophile Ernest Hemingway once referred to Spain as “the last good country left.” Like many artists and writers before him, he found the Iberian Peninsula to be a romantic destination with its rugged mountains, arid plains and ruined Moorish battlements. During the 19th century, the landscapes of the southern provinces of Andalucía and Granada attracted intrepid artist-travelers with what Washington Irving – in his classic “Tales of the Alhambra” – referred to “the soul of a feeling of sublimity.” Spanish majas bedecked with lace mantillas and coquettishly batting fans, toreros (bullfighters) arrogantly engaging bulls to dance and picturesque renditions of decaying castles perched atop craggy peaks came to symbolize Spain.
The artistic homage to Spain went beyond these quintessential scenes to embrace what was seen to be a distinctively “Spanish” aesthetic. Artists of different nationalities referentially acknowledged the notable accomplishments of the country’s renowned painters and writers. “España: Artists Celebrate Spain,” curated by Dr. Keli Erin Rylance of the University of Wisconsin, will feature works of art from the Martin Art Gallery’s permanent collection, including works by Spanish masters Goya, Picasso, Dali, Fortuny and Miro. Also included will be works by artists such as Joseph Pennell, William Strang, Anders Zorn and Francoise Gilot, who were intrigued by Spain.
