El Greco to Goya: Spanish Painting

This book presents highlights of the National Gallery’s outstanding collection of Spanish painting from the 15th to the 19th century―considered one of the finest outside of Spain. Haunting works by El Greco introduce the Golden Age of the 17th century. Canvases by Velázquez span his career, from royal portraits and religious works to the Rokeby Venus, his only surviving depiction of a female nude. Bartolomé Murillo is represented by exceptional religious and genre paintings, together with his imposing Self Portrait. Other works by Baroque painters, including Ribera and Zurbarán, reveal shifting uses of naturalism to express everything from the mysteries of faith to the grandeur of royalty to the beauty of the mundane. The later part of the collection includes Luis Meléndez’s Still Life with Oranges and Walnuts and portraits by Goya.