126- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
is considered the leading Romantic Spanish painter, an
artist who churned out meticulous, delicate portraits by the
hundred. Eugenio Lucas Villamil, more concerned with
bullfights and Inquisitors, excelled
at imitating Goya but did little to further the maestro’s
style nearly a century after the original was at work.
Finally, Mariano Fortuny is best remembered for his
brilliant rendering of colour and detail. He delved into the
Costumbrismoof Spanish literature in the later 19th
century, painting anecdotal scenes from contemporary
bourgeois life.Crawling toward the 20th century
When Realism, Impressionism and post-Impressionism
exploded north of the Pyrenees toward the end of the
19 thcentury, Spain reacted at a leisurely pace, gradually
unearthing a group of more expressive artists. Joaquín
Sorolla y Bastida was the most successful
painter of a loose Valencian Impressionist
school. He painted luminescent beach scenes,
expertly capturing the light and movement of
his native land.Triste herencia(1899), a vast
painting of handicapped children in the sea
at Valencia, gained Sorolla an international
reputation that remains in place today.
Painting in the late 19thand early 20thcenturies,
Ignacio Zuloaga resuscitated the religious heart
of Spanish art, drawing on a reawakening of
interest in artists like El Greco and the
Generation of 98’s attempts to resurrect Spain
itself.El Cristo de la Sangre(1911), a sombre
vision of Christ on the cross, was typical of
Zuloaga’s theatrical work, the strangely Castilian
figures set against a brooding, Cezanne-like
backdrop.Frame academies
The 18thcentury saw
the foundation of art
academies in major
Spanish cities, from
Cadiz to Barcelona,
Valencia to Zaragoza.
They served as centres
of excellence for
promising talent but also
as storehouses for the
best works of Spanish
painting. Going strong
since 1744, the Real
Academia de Bellas
Artes de San Fernando
in Madrid is the most
famous, its roll-call of
former directors
including Goya, Picasso
and Dalí.