Top 100 · Spanish painting
The 100 painters who tell the story of Spain
From Velazquez to Picasso, from Seville to Barcelona: five centuries of light, fervor, criticism and avant-garde.
Spanish painting is not a single movement, but a history made of powerful homes. Toledo and Castile welcome Flemish heritage and El Greco; Seville becomes one of the centers of European Baroque; Valencia develops its altarpieces then its luminism; Madrid concentrates the court and the Prado; Catalonia and the Basque Country finally open the way to modernism and the avant-gardes.
Court, faith, landscape, modernity and avant-garde.
The Golden Age
The court, the Church and the workshop invent a new presence
In the 17th century, Velázquez, Zurbaran, Murillo and Ribera transformed naturalism into spiritual, political and human language. Chiaroscuro reveals as much the material of a garment as the dignity of a face, while still life and portraiture become laboratories of the gaze.
Modernities
Goya opens a breach that Picasso, Miro and Dalí widen
From black romanticism to the avant-gardes, Spanish art questions violence, dreams and the very construction of the image. Paris plays a decisive role, but Mediterranean light, regional identities, civil war and exile give this research its particular tension.
The criteria
Influence, strength of works and place in museums
The rank intersects with historical importance, originality of language, quality of preserved works and ability to represent an artistic home. The ranking preserves the fifty artists of the old edition and adds fifty essential figures to better cover altarpieces, regional schools, history painting, landscape and modern creation.
The Top 10
Ten masters who changed the history of painting
From Velázquez to Dalí, these works have renewed the portrait, the light, the political gaze and the languages of modernity.
#1
Diego Velazquez
Diego Velázquez makes a sovereign gaze the spring of a painting that goes beyond his time. The Meninas, The Surrender of Breda and Venus in Her Mirror allow us to follow its inventions without reducing the work to a single masterpiece.
See the Diego Velazquez collection
#2
Francisco Goya
In Francisco Goya, critical vision organizes both the composition and the relationship with the spectator. From May 3, 1808 to Les Caprices, then to Saturn devouring his son, language was transformed while retaining an immediately recognizable identity.
See the Francisco Goya collection
#3
Pablo Picasso
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon reveals the essentials of Pablo Picasso: plastic rupture, but also an acute attention to light and presence. Guernica and Life show how this research expands to other subjects.
Read the biography of Pablo Picasso on Wikipedia
#4
El Greco
El Greco's strength lies in spiritual momentum, conducted with rare coherence. The Burial of Count Orgaz offers direct entry, while View of Toledo and The Laocoon shed light on the successive movements of his practice.
See the El Greco collection
#5
Salvador Dali
Salvador Dalí occupies a unique place in Spanish painting due to his sense of paranoid illusion. The comparison between The Persistence of Memory, Christ of Saint John of the Cross and Dream caused by the flight of a bee reveals a work more diverse than its most famous image.
Read Salvador Dalí's biography on Wikipedia
#6
Joan Miro
Rather than an effect of style, cosmic sign becomes for Joan Miro a way of thinking about the image. La Ferme, Le Carnaval d'Arlequin and Bleu II break down the tensions between tradition, experience and modern outlook.
Read Joan Miro's biography on Wikipedia
#7
Joaquin Sorolla
With Promenade au bord de la mer, Joaquin Sorolla imposes a vision based on Mediterranean light. Sad heritage and Cousant la voile confirm its ability to renew subjects while maintaining a very personal construction.
See the Joaquin Sorolla collection
#8
Francisco de Zurbaran
Francisco de Zurbaran transforms luminous asceticism into complete pictorial vocabulary, from detail to the general organization of the scene. Saint Serapion, Agnus Dei and Saint Casilde clearly mark this evolution.
See the Francisco de Zurbaran collection
#9
Bartolome Esteban Murillo
The work of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo can be recognized as devotional sweetness, never treated as a simple formula. Between The Immaculate Conception, The Young Beggar and Children Eating Grapes, it gains in turn in intensity, freedom and historical significance.
See the Bartolomé Esteban Murillo collection
#10
Jusepe de Ribera
Jusepe de Ribera deserves to be looked at beyond categories thanks to tragic material. The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew constitutes a major landmark; The Footbot and Apollo and Marsyas reveal other, sometimes more intimate, aspects of his ambition.
See the Jusepe de Ribera collectionChapter I · Ranks 11 to 25
From the avant-gardes to the masters of the altarpiece
Cubism, matter and surrealism dialogue here with the great Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque heritages of the peninsula.
#11
Juan Grey
Juan Gris makes cubist architecture the spring of a painting that goes beyond his time. Portrait of Picasso, Le Petit Déjeuner and Still Life with a Checkered Tablecloth allow us to follow his inventions without reducing the work to a single masterpiece.
See the Juan Gris collection
#12
Antoni Tàpies
At Antoni Tàpies, mural material organizes both the composition and the relationship with the viewer. From Gray Matter to Grand X, then to Pintura, language is transformed while retaining an immediately recognizable identity.
Read the biography of Antoni Tàpies on Wikipedia
#13
Bartolome Bermejo
Saint Dominic of Silos reveals the essentials of Bartolomé Bermejo: flamboyant precision, but also an acute attention to light and presence. Pietà Desplà and Resurrection show how this research expands to other subjects.
See the Bartolomé Bermejo collection
#14
Pedro Berruguete
Pedro Berruguete's strength lies in humanist transition, conducted with rare coherence. Auto-da-fé chaired by Saint Dominic offers direct entry, while Kings of Israel and Saint Peter the Martyr shed light on the successive shifts of his practice.
See the Pedro Berruguete collection
#15
Fernando Gallego
Fernando Gallego occupies a unique place in Spanish painting through his sense of Gothic drama. The comparison between Vault of the Sky, Altarpiece of San Ildefonso and Pietà reveals a work more diverse than its most famous image.
See the Fernando Gallego collection
#16
Luis de Morales
Rather than an effect of style, sacred intimacy becomes for Luis de Morales a way of thinking about the image. Ecce Homo, Virgin and Child and Pietà break down the tensions between tradition, experience and modern outlook.
See the Luis de Morales collection
#17
Juan Sanchez Cotan
With Quince, cabbage, melon and cucumber, Juan Sanchez Cotân imposes a vision based on silence of things. Still life with game and Cartuja de Granada confirm its ability to renew subjects while maintaining a very personal construction.
See the Juan Sanchez Cotân collection
#18
Alonso Sanchez Coello
Alonso Sanchez Coello transforms royal distance into complete pictorial vocabulary, from detail to the general organization of the scene. Portrait of Philip II, Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia and Habsburg Portraits clearly mark this evolution.
See the Alonso Sanchez Coello collection
#19
Juan Pantoja de la Cruz
The work of Juan Pantoja de la Cruz can be recognized by Habsburg ceremonial, never treated as a simple formula. Between Philip III, Margaret of Austria and Infanta Ana Mauricia, it gains in turn in intensity, freedom and historical significance.
See the Juan Pantoja de la Cruz collection
#20
Claudio Coello
Claudio Coello deserves to be looked beyond categories through liturgical theater. The Adoration of the Holy Form constitutes a major landmark; Triumph of Saint Augustine and Charles II reveal other, sometimes more intimate, aspects of his ambition.
See the Claudio Coello collection
#21
Juan Carreño de Miranda
Juan Carreño de Miranda makes court psychology the spring of a painting that goes beyond his time. Charles II, La Monstrua desnuda and Court Portraits allow us to follow the inventions without reducing the work to a single masterpiece.
See the Juan Carreño de Miranda collection
#22
Francisco ribalta
In Francisco Ribalta, mystical chiaroscuro organizes both the composition and the relationship with the spectator. From Christ kissing Saint Bernard to Saint Francis comforted by an angel, then to Vision of Saint Bruno, language is transformed while retaining an immediately recognizable identity.
See the Francisco Ribalta collection
#23
Juan de Valdés Leal
In ictu oculi reveals the essentials of Juan de Valdés Leal: brutal vanity, but also an acute attention to light and presence. Finis gloriae mundi and Assumption show how this research expands to other subjects.
See the Juan collection by Valdés Leal
#24
Luis Melendez
Luis Meléndez's strength lies in daily material, conducted with rare coherence. Still lifes of the Prado offer a direct entrance, while Melon et pears and Bodegon aux figs illuminate the successive movements of his practice.
See the Luis Meléndez collection
#25
Francisco Bayeu
Francisco Bayeu occupies a unique place in Spanish painting through his sense of academic grace. The comparison between Pilar Frescoes, Olympus and Portraits reveals a work more diverse than its most famous image.
See the Francisco Bayeu collectionChapter II · Ranks 26 to 50
From romanticism to the ruptures of the 20th century
Landscape, portrait, Catalan modernism and avant-gardes tell the story of a Spain which confronts Paris, war and exile.
#26
Luis Paret y Alcazar
Rather than an effect of style, Madrid refinement becomes for Luis Paret y Alcazar a way of thinking about image. The Antique Shop, The Oath of Charles III and Views of Ports highlight the tensions between tradition, experience and modern outlook.
See the Luis Paret y Alcazar collection
#27
Vicente Lopez Portana
With Portrait of Goya, Vicente Lopez Portaña imposes a vision based on official precision. Ferdinand VII and Official Portraits confirm his ability to renew subjects while maintaining a very personal construction.
See the Vicente Lopez Portaña collection
#28
Mariano Fortuny
Mariano Fortuny transforms precious virtuosity into complete pictorial vocabulary, from detail to the general organization of the scene. The Vicaria, The Battle of Tetouan and Odalisque clearly mark this evolution.
See the Mariano Fortuny collection
#29
Eduardo Rosales
The work of Eduardo Rosales can be recognized by historical gravity, never treated as a simple formula. Between Doña Isabel la Catolica dictating her will, Tobias and the angel and Portraits, she gains in turn in intensity, freedom and historical significance.
See the Eduardo Rosales collection
#30
Federico de Madrazo
Federico de Madrazo deserves to be looked beyond categories thanks to social elegance. The Countess of Vilches constitutes a major landmark; Aristocratic portraits and Isabella II reveal other, sometimes more intimate, aspects of her ambition.
See the Federico de Madrazo collection
#31
Martin Rico
Martin Rico makes traveling light the spring of a painting that goes beyond his time. Views of Venice, Landscapes of the Escorial and River banks allow you to follow their inventions without reducing the work to a single masterpiece.
See the Martin Rico collection
#32
Aureliano de Beruete
In Aureliano de Beruete, Castilian sobriety organizes both the composition and the relationship with the spectator. From Views of Toledo to Castilian Landscapes, then to Le Manzanares, language is transformed while retaining an immediately recognizable identity.
See the Aureliano collection by Beruete
#33
Dario de Regoyos
España negra reveals the essentials of Darío de Regoyos: atmospheric modernity, but also an acute attention to light and presence. The Nocturnal Concha and Market show how this research expands to other subjects.
See the Darío de Regoyos collection
#34
Ignacio Zuloaga
Ignacio Zuloaga's strength lies in austere Spain, conducted with rare coherence. The Blood Christ offers direct entry, while Portrait of the Duchess of Alba and Women of Sepulveda shed light on the successive movements of her practice.
See the Ignacio Zuloaga collection
#35
Ramon Casas
Ramon Casas occupies a unique place in Spanish painting due to his sense of worldly line. The comparison between Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu in tandem, The Charge and Portraits reveals a work more diverse than his most famous image.
See the Ramon Casas collection
#36
Santiago Rusiñol
Rather than an effect of style, melancholic garden becomes for Santiago Rusiñol a way of thinking about the image. Gardens of Spain, Café des Incohérents and La Morphine break down the tensions between tradition, experience and modern outlook.
See the Santiago Rusiñol collection
#37
Hermen Anglada Camarasa
With Valenciennes, Hermen Anglada Camarasa imposes a vision based on decorative color. Nightwomen and Landscapes of Majorca confirm its ability to renew subjects while maintaining a very personal construction.
Read the biography of Hermen Anglada Camarasa on Wikipedia
#38
Julio Romero de Torres
Julio Romero de Torres transforms Andalusian myth into complete pictorial vocabulary, from detail to the general organization of the scene. La Chiquita Piconera, Naranjas y limones and Cante hondo clearly mark this evolution.
See the Julio Romero collection by Torres
#39
Maria Blanchard
Maria Blanchard's work can be recognized by sensitive cubism, never treated as a simple formula. Between La Communiante, Cubist Still Life and Maternity, it gains in turn in intensity, freedom and historical significance.
See the Maria Blanchard collection
#40
Remedios Varo
Remedios Varo deserves to be looked at beyond categories through narrative alchemy. Creation of birds constitutes a major landmark; Exploration of the sources of the Orinoco and The Flight reveal other, sometimes more intimate, aspects of his ambition.
Read Remedios Varo's biography on Wikipedia
#41
Maruja Mallo
Maruja Mallo makes festive geometry the spring of a painting that goes beyond its time. La Verbena, Antro de fosiles and Naturalezas vivas allow you to follow the inventions without reducing the work to a single masterpiece.
Read Maruja Mallo's biography on Wikipedia
#42
Jose Gutierrez Solana
At José Gutiérrez Solana, a popular black person organizes both the composition and the relationship with the spectator. From La Tertulia del Café de Pombo to Masques, then to Processions, language is transformed while retaining an immediately recognizable identity.
See the José Gutiérrez Solana collection
#43
Joaquin Mir
Landscapes of Mallorca reveals the essentials of Joaquin Mir: telluric color, but also an acute attention to light and presence. The Cathedral of the Poor and Tarragona show how this research expands to other subjects.
See the Joaquin Mir collection
#44
Daniel Vazquez Diaz
Daniel Vázquez Diaz's strength lies in austere volume, conducted with rare coherence. Frescoes of La Rábida offers direct entry, while Portraits and Miners shed light on the successive movements of his practice.
Read the biography of Daniel Vazquez Diaz on Wikipedia
#45
Ôscar Dominguez
Ôscar Domínguez occupies a unique place in Spanish painting through his sense of surrealist accident. The comparison between Electro-sexual Sewing Machine, Décalcomanies and Portraits reveals a work more diverse than its most famous image.
Read the biography of Ôscar Dominguez on Wikipedia
#46
Esteban Vicente
Rather than an effect of style, colorful field becomes for Esteban Vicente a way of thinking about images. Collages, Abstract Compositions and Interior Landscapes break down the tensions between tradition, experience and modern gaze.
Read Esteban Vicente's biography on Wikipedia
#47
Antonio Saura
With Crucifixions, Antonio Saura imposes a vision based on black gesture. Ladies and Imaginary Portraits confirm his ability to renew subjects while maintaining a very personal construction.
Read Antonio Saura's biography on Wikipedia
#48
Manolo Millares
Manolo Millares transforms torn material into complete pictorial vocabulary, from detail to the general organization of the scene. Cuadros arpilleras, Homunculos and Compositions clearly mark this evolution.
Read the biography of Manolo Millares on Wikipedia
#49
Miquel Barcelo
Miquel Barcelo's work can be recognized by Mediterranean material, never treated as a simple formula. Between Coupole de Genève, Bibliothèque sous la mer and Faenas, it gains in turn in intensity, freedom and historical significance.
Read Miquel Barcelo's biography on Wikipedia
#50
Lita Cabellut
Lita Cabellut deserves to be looked at beyond categories with cracked portrait. Monumental portraits constitute a major landmark; Frida and Coco reveal other, sometimes more intimate, aspects of her ambition.
Read Lita Cabellut's biography on WikipediaChapter III · Ranks 51 to 75
Renaissance, Golden Age and court legacies
Valencian altarpieces, Madrid naturalism, still lifes and royal decorations reveal the depth of a tradition long summed up by a few names.
#51
Juan de Flandes
Court painter to Isabella the Catholic, Juan de Flandes unites Flemish meticulousness with a gravity specific to Castilian altarpieces. Its small panels construct the space through light, fabrics and gestures of remarkable narrative precision.
See the Juan de Flandes collection
#52
Alejo Fernandez
Between Cordoba and Seville, Alejo Fernandez takes Andalusian painting from late Gothic to Renaissance. The Virgin of the Navigators reveals her talent for mixing devotional images, collective portraits and the imagination of maritime expansion.
See the Alejo Fernandez collection
#53
Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina
Trained in contact with Italy, Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina introduced a Leonardesque gentleness and very mastered architecture to Spain. Its calm figures, enveloped in chiaroscuro, give the Valencian altarpiece a new monumental scale.
See the Fernando Yáñez collection by Almedina
#54
Vicente Masip
Vicente Masip renews Valencian religious painting with balanced compositions and dense color. His language, still attached to the altarpiece, directly prepares the more classic elegance of his son Juan de Juanes.
See the Vicente Masip collection
#55
Juan de Juanes
Juan de Juanes gave the Valencian Renaissance its clearest and most memorable devotional images. Idealized faces, bold colors and symmetry serve as an immediately readable spirituality for him.
See the Juan de Juanes collection
#56
Pedro Machuca
Painter and architect, Pedro Machuca brings back from Italy an energetic mannerism that we recognize by its shortcuts and its tense bodies. The Descent from the Cross sums up this ambition to give the sacred story a sculptural force.
See the Pedro Machuca collection
#57
Juan Correa de Vivar
Juan Correa de Vivar developed a refined painting in Castile, attentive to the rhythm of the groups and the transparency of the colors. Its altarpieces combine fervor, mannerist elegance and meticulous taste for details.
See Vivar’s Juan Correa collection
#58
Juan Fernandez Navarrete
Nicknamed "el Mudo", Juan Fernandez Navarrete brings to the Escorial a color nourished by Titian and dramatic light. Its religious scenes favor human presence over decorative splendor.
See the Juan Fernandez Navarrete collection
#59
Juan Bautista Maino
Juan Bautista Maíno combines Caravaggesque naturalism with a clear color acquired in Italy. His adorations, powerfully illuminated, make costume and gesture instruments of narration.
See the Juan Bautista Maino collection
#60
Pedro de Orrente
Pedro de Orrente transposes the Venetian biblical landscape to Spain, populated by animals and travelers. In his sacred stories, nature is never a simple background: it leads the gaze and regulates the time of action.
See the Pedro de Orrente collection
#61
Antonio de Pereda
Antonio de Pereda excels in vanities where jewelry, clocks, books and skulls recall the fragility of all possession. Its precise material transforms the moral lesson into a visual spectacle of great richness.
See the Antonio de Pereda collection
#62
Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo
Collaborator and son-in-law of Velázquez, Martinez del Mazo extends the art of portraiture to the court without being reduced to imitation. His views of Zaragoza and his family scenes open the space with a singular atmospheric freedom.
See the Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo collection
#63
Mateo Cerezo
Died very young, Mateo Cerezo left a work where Castilian fervor softened on contact with Venetian color. Its Virgins and still lifes are distinguished by a supple material and warm light.
See the Mateo Cerezo collection
#64
Sebastian by Herrera Barnuevo
Sebastián by Herrera Barnuevo thinks together about painting, sculpture and architecture in the Madrid of Philip IV. His portraits and decorative inventions give the court baroque a nervous, immediately recognizable elegance.
See the Sebastián collection by Herrera Barnuevo
#65
Jose Antolinez
José Antolínez is especially famous for his Immaculées with swollen draperies and skies crossed by angels. His lively touch and sense of movement lighten Madrid's religious solemnity.
See the José Antolinez collection
#66
Juan Antonio de Frias y Escalante
Frías y Escalante condenses the lessons of Venice, Van Dyck and Spanish Baroque into very personal compositions. His slender figures and clear palette give the sacred story an almost musical grace.
See the Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante collection
#67
Juan de Arellano
Juan de Arellano makes the bouquet of flowers an autonomous genre sought after by Madrid collectors. Tulips, roses and carnations stand out against dark backgrounds with a freshness that combines observation and staging.
See the Juan de Arellano collection
#68
Tomas Yepes
Tomás Yepes orders fruits, pastries, ceramics and flowers with a very Valencian sobriety. The frontality of its still lifes exalts each texture without breaking the meditative silence of the whole.
See the Tomás Yepes collection
#69
Antonio Palomino
Antonio Palomino was both a court fresco artist and the first great historian of Spanish painting. His vast settings display a spectacular perspective, while his biographies remain a major source on the Golden Age.
See the Antonio Palomino collection
#70
Miguel Jacinto Melendez
Portraitist of Philip V, Miguel Jacinto Meléndez accompanies the transition from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. He maintains Spanish restraint while introducing lighter fabrics and a staging inspired by French taste.
See the Miguel Jacinto Meléndez collection
#71
Mariano Salvador Maella
Mariano Salvador Maella dominates with Bayeu the great official decoration of the end of the 18th century. His frescoes and portraits combine academic drawing, rococo colors and a very sure sense of monarchical pageantry.
See the Mariano Salvador Maella collection
#72
Jose del Castillo
José del Castillo translates Madrid life into animated tapestry boxes, populated with games, walks and crafts. Its precise design and bold colors make the link between the academy and the daily chronicle.
See the José del Castillo collection
#73
Ramon Bayeu
Ramon Bayeu observes popular festivals, musicians and street scenes with direct verve. His cards for the royal factory show how the decor could become a laboratory of modern realism.
See the Ramon Bayeu collection
#74
Agustin Esteve
Agustin Esteve became one of the aristocracy's most sought-after portraitists during Goya's time. His effigies favor resemblance, the elegance of fabrics and a discreet psychology.
See the Agustin Esteve collection
#75
Jose Aparicio
José Aparicio puts neoclassical rigor at the service of history painting and monarchical propaganda. His great compositions favor readable action, clear drawing and carefully hierarchical gestures.
See the José Aparicio collectionChapter IV · Ranks 76 to 100
Landscapes, modernisms and regional identities
From Castile to the Basque Country and from Catalonia to Valencia, regional schools are inventing other ways of painting light, work and the city.
#76
Leonardo Alenza
Leonardo Alenza looks at popular Madrid with a dark humor inherited from Goya. His quick little scenes, sometimes cruel, capture social failings without losing the romantic taste for drama.
See the Leonardo Alenza collection
#77
Eugenio Lucas Velazquez
Eugenio Lucas Velázquez extends Goya's imagination into scenes of bullfighting, witchcraft and crowds. His fiery touch and luminous contrasts make him much more than just a pasticheur.
See the Eugenio Lucas Velazquez collection
#78
Jenaro Perez Villaamil
Jenaro Pérez Villaamil transforms Spanish cathedrals, ruins and landscapes into romantic visions shot through with light. Its dizzying architecture also shaped the monumental image of Spain in the 19th century.
See the Jenaro Pérez Villaamil collection
#79
Carlos de Haes
Carlos de Haes imposed painting on the motif on the Academy of Madrid and lastingly renewed the Spanish landscape. Rocks, mountains and undergrowth are observed there with a sobriety that excludes the easy picturesque.
See the Carlos de Haes collection
#80
Antonio Gisbert
Antonio Gisbert makes history painting a political theater of freedom and martyrdom. The Execution of Torrijos is striking for its empty horizon, its silence and the individualized dignity of the condemned.
See the Antonio Gisbert collection
#81
Jose Casado del Alisal
José Casado del Alisal orchestrates the major national episodes with almost stage clarity. In The Legend of the Huesca Bell, architecture, light and looks concentrate the tension even before the action.
See the José Casado del Alisal collection
#82
Raimundo de Madrazo
Based in Paris, Raimundo de Madrazo seduces an international clientele with his worldly portraits and refined interiors. His virtuosity in satins, lace and skin tones illustrates fin-de-siecle Spanish cosmopolitanism.
See Madrazo's Raimundo collection
#83
Francisco Pradilla
Francisco Pradilla combines documentary breadth and psychological intensity in his evocations of Joan the Mad. He also knows how to paint the landscape with a freshness of touch that softens academic solemnity.
See the Francisco Pradilla collection
#84
Jose Moreno Carbonero
José Moreno Carbonero puts his precision as a designer at the service of complex historical scenes and convincing realism. The Prince of Viana highlights his art of making decor a mirror of inner isolation.
See the José Moreno Carbonero collection
#85
Jose Benlliure
José Benlliure built a career between Valencia and Rome, moving from portraiture to the religious or popular scene. Its warm color and sense of narrative give ceremonies and everyday subjects an immediate presence.
See the José Benlliure collection
#86
Joaquin Agrasot
Joaquin Agrasot observes the Valencian countryside, its workers and its animals with a solid naturalist culture. His direct painting, luminous but without excessive idealization, announces modern regional taste.
See the Joaquin Agrasot collection
#87
Cecilio Pla
Cecilio Pla circulates light between beach scenes, portraits and press illustrations. Its elegant design and clear palette accompany the modernization of Spanish leisure and urban life.
See the Cecilio Pla collection
#88
Eliseu Meifrèn
Eliseu Meifrèn paints ports, gardens and shores with a moving touch sensitive to changes in the atmosphere. His travels gave Catalan impressionism an international opening, from Paris to Buenos Aires.
See the Eliseu Meifrèn collection
#89
Isidre Nonell
Isidre Nonell places at the center of his work the marginalized figures that Barcelona society prefers to ignore. Its dark paste, its folded silhouettes and its muted harmonies give Catalan modernism a rare social gravity.
See the Isidre Nonell collection
#90
Joaquim Sunyer
Joaquim Sunyer simplifies the Mediterranean landscape and the nude according to an ideal of order specific to Noucentism. Its calm volumes, rounded hills and dry light offer a modernity opposed to modernist exuberance.
See the Joaquim Sunyer collection
#91
Ricard Canals
Ricard Canals shares the experience of bohemian Paris with Picasso before developing a brighter painting. Its dancers, elegant and Spanish scenes combine graphic liveliness, decorative color and familiar observation.
See the Ricard Canals collection
#92
Francisco Iturrino
Francisco Iturrino releases color through contact with Matisse and the Parisian avant-garde. Gardens, nudes and Andalusian scenes become fields of reds, greens and blues with a wild frankness.
See the Francisco Iturrino collection
#93
Adolfo Guiard
Adolfo Guiard introduced to the Basque Country the daring learned in impressionist Paris. Its port and rural scenes are constructed by flexible flat areas, modern framing and Atlantic light.
See the Adolfo Guiard collection
#94
Aurelio Arteta
Aurelio Arteta gives monumental dignity to workers, fishermen and families in the Basque Country. Its compact figures and synthetic design reflect industrialization without abandoning the poetry of the local landscape.
See the Aurelio Arteta collection
#95
Juan de Echevarria
Juan de Echevarría left the industry late for painting and assimilated Gauguin, Van Gogh then Fauvism. His portraits of intellectuals and still lifes are based on an intense color, structured rather than descriptive.
See the Juan de Echevarria collection
#96
Jose Maria Sert
José Maria Sert designs immense wall settings where powerful bodies are organized like on a stage. Its range of gold, sepia and black transforms palaces, hotels and cathedrals into modern baroque theaters.
See the José Maria Sert collection
#97
Ricardo Baroja
Painter, engraver and writer, Ricardo Baroja describes bohemia, suburbs and popular types with fraternal irony. Its etchings, with deep blacks, extend the tradition of Goya in 20th century Spain.
See the Ricardo Baroja collection
#98
Jose Maria Lopez Mezquita
José Maria Lopez Mezquita acquired a reputation as a portrait painter at a very young age thanks to brilliant craftsmanship and uncompromising observation. He also retains the color and rhythms of Granada in his popular scenes.
See the José Maria Lopez Mezquita collection
#99
Alfonso Ponce de Leon
Alfonso Ponce de León constructs a brief, enigmatic and cold work, interrupted by the civil war. His Self-Portrait in an Accident combines realistic precision, theatrical setting and premonitory anxiety.
See the Alfonso Ponce de Leon collection
#100
Angeles Santos
At seventeen, Angeles Santos painted A World, a vast cosmology that stunned the Spanish avant-garde. His imagination combines new objectivity, surrealism and inner solitude, before evolving towards a more intimate figuration.
Read Angeles Santos' biography on WikipediaSources and routes
Extend the visit to Spanish painting
Biographical landmarks, attributions and contexts were compared with the collections and notices of major museums. The Prado remains central, but Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and international collections reveal a much broader history.
Explore Alpha Reproduction
Spanish painting never ceases to shift the gaze
From the silence of a bodegon to the unstable space of the Meninas, from the lucidity of Goya to the fragmentation of Picasso, these hundred artists show a tradition capable of reinventing itself without losing its intensity. Its history can be read in major museums, but also in regional workshops, exiles and dialogues with Europe.
To choose a reproduction, start from the desired atmosphere: the sovereign light of Velázquez, the tension of Goya, the Mediterranean brilliance of Sorolla, the geometry of Gris or the imagination of Dalí. Each notice then opens a journey dedicated to the artist.
0 comments