I love art, so when a group of friends invited me to visit the current exhibit in Balboa Park, I said "Yes." The exhibit consisted of 66 paintings from the collection of Perez Simon, the telecommunications mogul from Mexico and art afficianado. He has a collection of over 1500 paintings from all corners of the world. This entire exhibit was from his collection.
It began with a small painting by El Greco and ended with several larger canvases by Dali. Every great Spanish master from the 16th to the 20th century was represented. My favorite part of our docent tour were the several paintings she showed us by Joaquin Sorolla. He was an artist who painted at the turn of the century, from the late 1800's until 1920, whom I was unfamiliar with, and was so happy to be introduced to.
Sorolla is not considered an Impressionist, although he painted at the same time as the early impressionists, and many of his paintings remind me Monet and Cassat. His use of light and color, his subject matter, often women and children at the sea or at work, and portraits make me think impressionism. His paintings of women remind me of Mary Cassat. I love his work. He was born in Valencia, worked much of his life in Madrid, and even worked in the U.S. for several years. He was definitely in touch with impressionists and influenced by them. (Monet was a close friend).
This was a small exhibit of exceptional quality, and one that will be gone from San Diego very soon. (November 2 is closing day). Then it will go back to Mexico City, where I understand a museum to house all of the works of Mr. Perez Simon will be housed and viewed by the public. He feels that art should be enjoyed by all and wants the public to enjoy his collection after he is gone. Great idea.
Lunch at the Prado topped off a great day at Balboa Park. What a group of us did after lunch will be the topic of another blog next week. Thanks, Marie, for organizing this great day.
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