El Greco to Goya: Masterpieces from the Prado Museum

Museo de Arte de Ponce portrays in Puerto Rico and exhibition that will attract thousands of visitors

NEW YORK, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Spanish Embassy in the United States, held a joint press conference at the Cervantes Institute in New York City to announce El Greco to Goya: Masterpieces from the Prado Museum, a historic exhibition that marks the beginning of an important cultural exchange between the Old World and the New.

For the first time in Puerto Rico and the United States, the public will be able to view an exhibit comprised entirely of masterworks from the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid. With Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico as its venue, this unprecedented exhibit will showcase 25 works by some of the great masters of Spanish painting, including Francisco de Goya, El Greco, Diego Velazquez, Peter Paul Rubens and Francisco de Zurbaran. The exhibition will be open to the public from March 25 through July 9, 2012.

Miguel Zugaza Miranda, director of the Prado Museum, and Dr. Gabriele Finaldi, director of conservation and research, will be among the distinguished figures that will travel to Puerto Rico for the inaugural ceremonies, on the occasion of the first time that El Prado co-organizes an exhibition consisting exclusively of works from its permanent collection.

The exhibition will present a survey of religious paintings, still-lifes, and portraits of Spanish royalty from the 17th to the early 19th century, all done by great masters in the employ of the Spanish crown. Grouped into subject categories, the works reflect a wide spectrum of the culture of the time, opening an interesting path for analysis of the political and social history of this important period in the Spanish Empire. The show centers on the artistic traditions of the country and the ideological ideas on which the Spanish School was founded in the 17th century. The dynastic relationships of the Spanish monarchy, first with Italy and later with Flanders, generated a complex interaction of Spanish and Italo-Flemish styles in the works on view. From the reign of Charles I of Habsburg (the Emperor Charles V) through that of King Ferdinand VII de Bourbon, the exhibition will provide visitors unique contact with many of the great masterworks of Spanish painting, as well as exposure to the artistic achievements and innovations of the great artists of the time.

"Our interest at the Museo de Arte de Ponce is in giving the public access to the finest examples of world art. In this case, we have chosen works that are absolutely iconic, works that people seek out when they visit the Prado's extraordinary galleries in Madrid. It is rare for such an important group of paintings to be removed from the active walls of the Prado—including the Velazquez Gallery, where Las Meninas is on permanent display—for a loan of this sort, and so we express our gratitude for the distinction granted us by the directors of the Prado Museum and Accion Cultural Espanola, who have been extremely supportive in lending this remarkable selection of works," said Dr. Agustin Arteaga, director of the Museo de Arte de Ponce.

On the other hand, El Greco to Goya represents a tremendous event for tourists since the exhibition will satisfy the highest expectations of that large sector of the market made up of visitors interested in experiences related to art, culture, and education. Doctor Arteaga seized the occasion of the announcement of El Greco to Goya to urge everyone in the U.S. to come to Puerto Rico and enjoy "the Prado in Ponce," with the unique advantage of not having to have a visa or passport. He also stressed the diversity of places of interest and the beauties of Ponce and the rest of the south region of Puerto Rico, known as Porta Caribe.

Along with the artworks from Museo del Prado visitors will also delight in 15 works by the Spanish School related in chronology to the Prado paintings that belong, in their majority, to the Museo de Arte de Ponce's permanent collection. This group includes canvases by Luis de Morales, Jusepe de Ribera, El Greco and his studio, Bartolome Esteban Murillo, and Francisco de Goya, among others. It will also include the wonderful Self-Portrait as a Campesino, a work done in Puerto Rico in 1776 by Spanish painter Luis Paret y Alcazar during his exile in the then-Spanish colony.

As part of the Museo de Arte de Ponce's educational program, the museum will offer thematic tours, art workshops, curricular-integration workshops for teachers and art experts, and a series of lectures on the works and the main themes that run through the exhibit. The educational component of the exhibit is sponsored by the Banco Santander, with additional funding by Goya de Puerto Rico. With the support of these corporations, the Museo de Arte de Ponce will be able to provide a full range of educational and cultural activities to complement the exhibit.

"We want to maximize the educational potential presented to us by El Greco to Goya, so we are planning interpretive activities for all the many kinds of visitors who will be viewing the exhibit, so that they can better understand the paintings, increase their knowledge of the works' subjects, and generally have a fuller and more enjoyable experience," explained Dr. Arteaga, who also mentioned that the museum will have available podcasts to enhance a virtual visit to the museum. Audio guides in both Spanish and English languages are part of the complementary gears of the exhibition as well as an educational guide for teachers of elementary school.

The calendar of events to accompany the exhibit includes a cycle of specialized lectures organized by the museum's curator of European art, Pablo Perez d'Ors. Musical and cultural activities are also planned, such as evenings with the Spanish guitar, flamenco nights, and tastings of Spanish cuisine, as well as laboratories for adults, young people, and children and curricular-integration workshops for teachers.

An illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The catalogue can be purchased in the museum shop or online at www.museoarteponce.org. The cost of admission to this exhibition is $5.00. For more information, please call 787-840-1510 or write to [email protected].

A calendar of related events follows in the next page. A press kit with a disc with images and their mandatory credits for media use is available upon request.

El Greco to Goya, masterpieces from the Prado Museum
March 29–July 9, 2012

Calendar of Related Events

Lectures

May 10, 4:00 p.m.: Collector-Kings: The Origin of a World Heritage. Dr. Jose Luis Diez Garcia, Real Academia de la Historia and head of conservation of 19th-century painting at the Museo Nacional del Prado. Sponsored by the Banco Santander Foundation.

May 17, 6:30 p.m.: Paradises Lost: Paret and Puerto Rico. Pablo Perez d'Ors, curator of European art, Museo de Arte de Ponce.

May 24, 6:30 p.m.: Sight, Hearing, and Devotion: The Function of Religious Art in the Spanish Siglo de Oro. Pablo Perez d'Ors, curator of European art, Museo de Arte de Ponce.

May 31, 6:30 p.m.: Other Goyas: Goya's 80 "Caprichos." Dr. Frances Ortiz Ortiz, professor of Humanities, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico.

June 7 Closing event
Sponsored by the Banco Santander Foundation

• 5:00 p.m.: Some Aspects of the Conservation of the Works of El Greco. Rafael Alonso Alonso, restorer, Museo Nacional del Prado.
• 6:00 p.m.: Goya and Eighteenth-Century Spanish Painting. Dr. Manuela B. Mena Marques, head of conservation of 18th-century painting and of Goya, Museo Nacional del Prado.

Guided tours

April 26, 2:00 p.m.: The Prado Museum and the Exhibition "El Greco to Goya." Pablo Perez d'Ors, curator of European art, Museo de Arte de Ponce.

Daily: Dialogues Between Great Masters: The Collections of the Prado Museum and the Museo de Arte de Ponce. Docents.

Informal talks and roundtables

March 25, 3:30 p.m.: Ingredients of Spanish Cuisine in "Eclectic" Cuisine. Chef Ariel Rodriguez.

March 29, 10:30 a.m.:  Male and Female Spanish Fashion and its Influence in Puerto Rico. Panelists: Nono Maldonado (designer), Cristiano Carciani (Universidad del Turabo), Rita Cerame (from the former Puerto Rico Design Council), Pedro Lazaro (historian), and Marian Toledo (Escuela de Artes Plasticas). Moderator: Silvia Aguilo.

April 25, 6:30 p.m.: Art Detectives: The Science of Attribution. Lidia Aravena, head conservator, Museo de Arte de Ponce.

April 27, 10:00 a.m.: Spain in the Speech of Puerto Rico. Dr. Luz Nereida Perez.

May 3, 10:30 a.m.: Goya and His Time: The Disasters of War. Prof. Antonio de las Casas.

Workshops

April 13, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: From the Spanish Cradle to the Puerto Rican School: Puerto Rican Children's Songs and Song-Games. Griselle Bou de Blanco, Coro de Ninos de San Juan.

April 15, 1:00–4:00 p.m.: Recipes from Still-Life Paintings: Making 17th-Century Spanish Sweets. Pablo Perez d'Ors, curator of European Art, Museo de Arte de Ponce.

June 8, 1:00–3:00 p.m.: Presentation of the book Canciones y cantos-juegos infantiles puertorriquenos  and workshop for families with children through 12 years of age.

Every Monday during the exhibition, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Copying the Prado Style. An invitation for artists and advanced students in painting to do copies (drawings) of works in the exhibition. Directed by artist Julio Amill.

Other events

April 1, 2:00 p.m.: Rubens: The Spectacle of Life. Documentary from the Museo Nacional del Prado.

April 22, May 20, and June 17, 3:00 p.m.: An afternoon of Spanish guitar in the Granada Garden.

April 29, May 27, and June 24, 1:00 p.m.: The Flowers of Poetry. A reading of poems from the Spanish Siglo de Oro in the Granada Garden.

Program subject to change without notice.

Information: www.museoarteponce.org
i[email protected]                                                                           
Tel: 787-840-1510       

SOURCE Museo de Arte de Ponce