A very Victorian vision of Spain
The Museo Unicaja Joaquín Peinado in Ronda hosts an exhibition of paintings by British 19th century artists
SUR IN ENGLISH
Viernes, 31 de mayo 2019, 12:18
Some 75 paintings by 20 British artists are now on display in Ronda's Joaquín Peinado museum, as part of an exhibition to highlight the vision of Spain of Victorian painters.
INFORMATION
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When. Until 31 August.
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Where. Museo Joaquín Peinado, Plaza del Gigante, Ronda.
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What. An exhibition of paintings by British artists, mainly from the Victorian era, depicting a romanticised vision of Spain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Artists include John Phillip, Edwin Long, John Bagnold Burgess, John Haynes Williams, Robert Kemm, Edwin Roberts, William Ewart Lockhart, Henry Stainer, Edwin Wensley Rusell, Edward Charles Barnes, Henry Charles Brewer and William Oliver and the majority of the works were produced between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
A private collection
The paintings, which reflect the stereotypical images of bandits and cigarette makers in Andalucía, are executed in watercolours and in oils and are all from an important private collection. They span more than a century of art, specifically from 1856, the date of the oldest painting, to 1956, and are displayed together with artistic and historical information.
The artists are some of the most well known of the Victorian era and their works focus on the status of the bourgeoisie and European nobility of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The exhibitions explores how the perceptions held of the culture and people of Spain, and especially Andalucía, originated in paintings by British artists.
Entitled 'La visión de España en la pintura Victoriana y la pervivencia del modelo romántico' the show depicts a variety of scenes from picturesque and sublime landscapes and figures of peasants and bandits to cigarette makers, matchmakers, priests and triumphant bullfighters.
Perceptions of the time
The exhibition represents a showcase of the country, filtered by the perceptions of the time, with fans, blunderbusses, prayers, romances and important monuments such as the Alhambra, the Torre del Oro and Burgos Cathedral.
Besides their historical and cultural value, the paintings in the exhibition stand out for their technical expertise and academic excellence, fully exploring modern sensibility, with poetic and formal techniques ranging from late romanticism to realism and postimpressionism.
