Members and supporters of Queen Sofia Spanish Institute kicked off New York Fashion Week with a special reception and private viewing of Joaquín Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress, the acclaimed exhibition open through March 10.

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Conceived by Oscar de la Renta, Joaquín Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress examines the rich history of Spain’s regional clothing styles through the monumental paintings of the Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863—1923), For the first time, Sorolla’s vivid depictions of early-twentieth-century Spanish life are shown side by side with the types of costumes (and in many cases the very ensembles) they portray.

In 1911, Sorolla was commissioned by Archer Milton Huntington (1870—1955), founder of The Hispanic Society of America, to paint the mural Vision of Spain, which was completed in 1919 and installed at the Society in 1926. Unprecedented in both scope and scale, the massive painting cycle represents eleven regions of the country and focuses on rural life and its customs, emphasizing traditional dress. Sorolla dedicated eight incredibly productive years to this ethnographic study, a period chronicled in his hundreds of preparatory sketches, gouaches, oil studies, and full-scale paintings. The resulting work has become an important map of diverse regional identity, representing Spain in all its glory… (Click to read full description...)

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(c) 2012 by Jesus Pino Aguilar