Friday, Radin and I went to check out the blockbuster at the Guggeneheim; Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History. It displayed great masters from the 16th century to the modernists of the 20th century. The reason I call it a blockbuster is because of the line-up, which include Velasquez, El Greco, Picasso, Miro, Goya, Ribera, and many more.

During the exhibition Greg and I pontificated on the reason why the Spanish masters would draw still lifes. Greg with his expert knowledge of art, reasoned that maybe they just wanted to paint vases and dying produce, contrary to the contrived explanation of immortality and profound fascination of death.

Anyways, the best way to the do the exhibition is top down, because everything at the bottom is not really worth seeing, and the cubist items are all crap, especially some of the Picassos. The real reason to see the exhibition is to see some of the rare Spanish master's at work, although some of the paintings are second rate. Although, the overall theme was nonsense and there were not many correlations between the traditional painters to the modernists it is worth seeing the exhibition.

Picasso's interpretation of Zubaran's study of skulls

Miro and his exquisite detail to forms and line

For some reason I took a lot of pictures of Picasso, I guess I really am a modernist, although I really do feel that the 16th century work was the pinnacle of the exhibition.