The exhibition’s structure
The modernisation of painting. From Manet to Cézanne
The first section of the exhibition looks at 19th-century Spanish painters’ interest in
the work of El Greco. Mariano Fortuny appreciated the freshness of his use of colour,
capturing it in his watercolour The Trinity, which is displayed alongside El Greco’s
original. Fortuny’s brother-in-law Ricardo de Madrazo also produced skilful copies of
El Greco’s works such as Elderly Man. This fascination with the artist was also felt by
American painters such as Chase and French ones including Manet. The latter may
have known El Greco’s Annunciation exhibited in this section, at that date in the
collection of Baron Taylor. Its transparent colours and luminosity influenced Manet’s
Dead Christ with Angels.
This section concludes with an analysis of the connection between Cézanne and El
Greco as the basis for one of the concepts underlying the origins of modern painting,
given that both painters had a decisive influence on Cubism and Expressionism.
Cézanne’s Bathers and Lady in an Ermine Wrap after El Greco are clear examples of this
influence. Shown alongside them are copies of two publications that contributed to
the dissemination of Lady in an Ermine Wrap: Annals of the Artists of Spain by William
Stirling Maxwell, and Histoire des peintres de toutes les écoles. École espagnole by Charles
Blanc.