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Carol Williams plays Spreckles International Summer Organ


Festival p. 15


Volume 3, Issue 15 • July 22–August 4, 2011• San Diego Uptown News


12


Time travel through five centuries of Spanish art


By Jeff Britton SDUN Art Reviewer T


ime travel is in vogue. In Woody Allen’s latest runaway hit film, “Midnight in Paris,” his protagonist merrily cavorts with some of the greatest artists of the early 20th century.


Two of those artists—Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí—are featured in San Diego


Museum of Art’s own adventure in time travel: “From El Greco to Dalí” spans five centuries in a rich survey of Spanish art from the Old Masters to the Avant Garde. The 64 magnificent paintings are from the Juan Antonio Perez Simon Collec-


tion. A native of Asturias, in Spain, Simon has lived most of his life and acquired his fortune in Mexico, collecting thousands of works of art. He also maintains a home in San Diego and due to his love of this city, San Diego will be the show’s only U.S. venue.


This exhibition connects SDMA’s permanent collection with works on loan from


collections such as the Prado in Madrid, the Musee d’Orsay in Paris and the National Gallery in London. It was previously shown at the Musee Jacquemart-Andree in Paris and the National Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec City. As you enter the exhibit, you are struck by the wide array of deeply devout Catholic paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries. El Greco’s “Head of Christ,” its translucent eyes heavenward is followed by his mystical “Annunciation,” which has an ethereal dancing quality to its figures. Borras’ exquisite “Virgin of the Milk” depicts her tenderly nursing the Christ


child. Opposite is Tovar’s “The Divine Shepherdess,” a gorgeous turquoise cloak wrapped around her shoulders bedecked in a wool garment that cleverly matches the innocent animals she tends.


Murillo’s “St. John the Baptist” as a young shepherd features a muted scarlet cape over his modest cloak. An amazing oil on wood triptych by Vasquez presents the crucifix-


see Spanish, page 13


From El Greco to Dalì—The Great Spanish Masters from the Pérez Simón Collection


(Courtesy SDMA)


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