The Thyssen Museum hosts from June 18 until September 22, an extraordinary exhibition that presents the close relationship that the designer Cristóbal Balenciaga maintained with Spanish painting when creating his designs.
Thanks to the collaboration of the Museo del Prado, the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, the Costume Museum, the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum of Guetaria, the Museu Del Disseny and the Museum of Arts of Bilbao, among many others, as well as private collections, in this wonderful exhibition you can discover unique pieces, both from the painting of our country and from the creations of the genius itself.
Its organizers have wanted to assemble a large group of Spanish paintings that did not detract from Balenciaga’s designs at all, that is, the chosen paintings should not be a decoration or a background, but these masterpieces should create a dialogue with the models of the designer, within the exhibition space.
“Balenciaga and Spanish painting” is an experience in itself, a conversation between the spirits of the portrayed and all those ladies who wore the dresses of the Basque artist.
The curator of the exhibition, Eloy Martínez de la Pera, emphasizes that fashion has always been present in our art history books, and of course, in our museums.
In the case of Balenciaga, Spanish painting was his main source of inspiration when developing his talent. When settling in Paris, the Basque creator realized how much he missed Spain, and began to include in his designs very recognizable elements of some of the most famous paintings of Spanish art.
In this exhibition, the Thyssen Museum has collected 90 pieces, some of them kept in private for almost 70 years, by the designer and a total of 55 paintings, among which the works of Goya, Zuloaga, Velázquez and Madrazo stand out among other famous names of Spanish art.
The audience that attends this magnificent exhibition will discover the most intimate Balenciaga but also the most powerful, that child who at 12 already knew that one day he would become a great fashion designer.
