Louvre Masterclass XI : Spanish Painting at the Louvre

This eleventh Louvre Masterclass explores Spanish painting from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century through works by El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Zurbarán, Goya and their contemporaries.

Although the Louvre’s Spanish paintings do not enjoy quite the same renown as its Italian or Flemish collections, they are exceptionally rewarding. With the notable exception of Velázquez, the leading figures of the Spanish school are represented, often by masterpieces such as Ribera’s The Clubfooted Boy or Murillo’s The Young Beggar. The collection also has a remarkable history, notably the opening in 1838 of Louis-Philippe’s Spanish Gallery, which brought together nearly 500 paintings but remained at the Louvre for only about a decade.

The masterclass will begin with El Greco, regarded as a precursor of modern Spanish painting. Drawing on Byzantine culture and the Venetian Renaissance, his style was long considered extravagant because of its shimmering colours and elongated figures. Yet these qualities were closely aligned with the Spanish Church’s desire for art capable of moving the faithful.

Religious painting of the Spanish Golden Age will then be explored through Herrera, Valdés Leal, Murillo and Zurbarán, with attention to the diversity of styles, the complexity of iconography and the decisive role of royal and religious institutions as patrons.

Another major focus will be portraiture which, from Ribera to Goya, became one of the most fertile and distinctive genres of Spanish painting. Its social and political dimensions will also be considered.

Through close visual analysis and discussion, the session will offer practical ways to introduce different audiences to Spanish painting, a tradition too often overlooked by visitors to the Louvre.