Opening today at Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Balenciaga and The Spanish Painting is a landmark moment in the history of art - juxtaposing the couturier’s designs with the paintings that inspired them for the first time.Balenciaga was introduced to the arts, and the world of couture, at an early age. His mother was a dressmaker for the Marquis and Marchioness of Casa Torres, who spent the warmer months in Getaria, where the designer lived with his family. While visiting the Marquis and Marchioniess, he would admire their sumptuous clothes and the many volumes in their family library, as well as being mesmerised by works from the likes of Velasquez, El Greco and Goya among others. It was there that he started to forge his distinctive aesthetic - taking inspiration from the minimalist lines and vibrant colours on display in the works.
The exhibition’s curator Eloy Martinez de la Pera had wanted to show the “exchange of notes” between the designer and Spanish artists for some time, so when the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum got in touch with him, he already had a clear idea of what he was going to achieve. Balenciaga and The Spanish Painting is structured chronologically, with 90 pieces of clothing and nearly 60 paintings from the 16th to 20th century on display. Side by side with great works of art, the couturier's designs take on fresh life.
Dress: 1940s wedding dress made from silk, lace and viscose tulle. Colección de Ma, Victoria de León. Copyright Jon Cazenave. / Painting: Portrait of Eugenia de Montijo, Countess of Teba (1849). Colección Duque de Alba, Palacio de Las Dueñas, Sevilla.
In the first room are many of the exact paintings that Balenciaga admired as a child at Casa Torres. Goya’s Cardinal Don Luis de Borbon establishes a dialogue with a magnificent red dress suit - while a famous Infanta dress from 1939 is shown to be directly inspired by Velasquez’s portrait, Infanta Margarita of Austria. Meanwhile, the second room is fully dedicated to El Greco, with portraits of angels and saints in voluminous mantles covering the walls.
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