Mythos Spanien. Ignacio Zuloaga (1870 – 1945)

With its exhibition The Myth of Spain. Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1945) the Bucerius Kunst Forum celebrates the great rediscovery of an artist whose paintings embody the identity of Spain to this day. Developed in cooperation with the Kunsthalle München, the show is the first comprehensive retrospective of the Spanish painter in Germany.

Zuloaga, an international star of the art scene during his lifetime, shaped the image of Spain around 1900 like no other artist, an image that still reverberates today. In his large-format paintings, he depicts toreros and flamenco dancers, but also the simple life of the rural folk. He also created numerous expressive portraits of well-known cultural and political figures. His interpretations of hermits in vast, barren, sometimes mystical landscapes are reminiscent of the artistic legacy of El Greco, while Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez also had a great impact on the artist. In times of industrialization and Spain's orientation towards European modernism, the artist wanted to preserve the "Spanish soul" and posed the question of the country's identity: Tradition or modernity, reflection on one's own or opening to Europe? Questions that are still relevant today.

The show brings together some 80 works by the great Spanish painter from the period between 1890 and 1941 and invites visitors to rediscover the versatility of his oeuvre.

The exhibition is sponsored by Hapag-Lloyd Stiftung.