The “masterpieces” of the Spanish painting by The Frick Collection, an important New York collection, are on display in room 16 A of the Museo Nacional del Prado until July 2. It is a set of nine works by Velázquez, El Greco, Murillo and Goya That ya hang ‘as in your own home“.
“The second natural place for these works is the Museo del Prado and that is why we wanted to underline this relationship, joining them with five other direct connections”, explained the head of conservation of Spanish Painting until 1800 at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Javier Portús. .
Thus, next to ‘San Jerónimo’ by El Greco hangs ‘Portrait of a doctor’, which is its counterpart in terms of civil portrait and gray chromatic range; while next to ‘The expulsion of the merchants’, by that same painter, is located in ‘The Annunciation’, since both show a comparable use of architectural resources to solve space leakage.
In the case of Velazquez, ‘Felipe IV’ in Fraga, by Frick, was made at the same time, in the same place and with the same canvas as ‘El primo’. The ‘Portrait of a lady’ signed by Goya in 1824, and the portrait of ‘Juan Bautista Muguiro’ that this same artist made in 1827 are also shown together.
The painter from Zaragoza has also rescued ‘La fragua’, “one of the tops of Goya in terms of anatomical expression” and which caught the attention of the sculptor Giacometti during his visit to the Frick. The portrait of the Duke of Osuna, one of his “most devoted” patrons and for whom he painted more than 30 paintings, will also be on the walls of the Prado.
From his contemporary Murillo comes a ‘Self-portrait’ inscribed in an oval and stone frameaccording to a very characteristic typology of the painter, and which is common to Nicolás Omazur, from the Prado, along with the one on display.
All the works that are now in Spain came out more than 100 years ago and even for some of them it is the first time in this country. For example, one of El Greco’s portraits was painted in Italy. Goya’s ‘The Forge’ came out in 1835 and ‘The Expulsion of the Merchants’, in 1909. In the case of the portrait of Felipe IV, there is evidence that he was no longer in Spain since the beginning of the 18th century.
“The Frick collection also helps us to know the status of Spanish painting in the 20th century. Frick was a collector who could have whatever he wanted and if he chose painters like El Greco, Velázquez or Goya and chose them because they were part of the international pictorial pantheon”, Portús pointed out.
The new Frick house-museum, in 2024
Spanish painting was especially important in the identity of the collection of Henry Clay Frick – who made a great fortune in the interrelated industries of coal, steel and railways – although it was few in number. The collection spans from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, with a predominance of portraits, landscapes and genre scenes. FRick had the works to “live with” in his New York residence, which opened in 1935.
Currently, the house-museum is being renovated and part of the works have been transferred and exhibited in museums such as the Whitney or the MET. Ian Wardropper, director of The Frick Collection, explained that 60% of the works are currently on display and with the reform he hopes to gain 25% more space -for example, the second floor has never been open and will be opened for visits -. The forecasts are that at the end of next year the new space will be inaugurated.