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Guillermo Solana, director of the Thyssen Museum, compares the work of German expressionist painter Kirchner with Chinese landscape painting. Video: Ye Zi (01:57)
"Six Hundred Years of Masters: Masterpieces from the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum" is on display at the Pudong Art Museum in Shanghai, and is the first major international exhibition since the founding of the Thyssen Museum with 70 works about "Western Art Scrolls" spanning six centuries (Renaissance to post-war).
The exhibition uses time clues to show the development of Western art from the 15th century to the 20th century, covering many important art genres and artists. Guillermo Solana, art curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Spain and curator of the exhibition, recently avoided the names of Raphael, Rubens, Courbet, Van Gogh, Chagall, etc., in an exclusive interview with The Paper Art Review, but focused on the history of the Thyssen Museum's collection and some underrated artists and works.
Guillermo Solana, Art Curator of the Thyssen Museum and curator of the exhibition, introduces the works from Studio Raphael
Portraiture reflects the change of art from objective to subjective
The Paper: The earliest work in the exhibition is Rohill van der Wyden's "Portrait of a Man" in 1464, and the latest is Raphael de Sawyer's "Self-Portrait" in 1980, more than 500 years apart. Why were these two works chosen first and last? How do two portraits spanning 500 years project the different artistic styles and cultural changes of the two eras?
Solana: Roshir van der Wyden (1399/1400-1464, one of the "Three Masters of Flemish Renaissance Art"), was one of the first artists to begin creating traditional oil painting. The collection stems from the love of Heinrich Thyssenflemish paintings. Heinrich Thyssen's father, August Thyssen, founded the empire of the family-owned steel industry in 1871. He also started the family's collecting tradition, commissioning seven sculptures by Rodin between 1905 and 1911. In 1906, Heinrich Thyssen married the daughter of the Hungarian baron Gabo Bonnemisza de Casson, and acquired the first major collection in the late 2020s. In 1930, Thyssen exhibited his collection in Munich, and two years later he bought the Villa Favorita on the shores of Lake Lugano, Switzerland. He built a personal gallery there and began actively searching the international art market for classics.
View of the exhibition, Roshir van der Weyden (biography), Portrait of a Man, oil on wood, 1464, the oldest work in the exhibition.
Raphael Sawyer (1899-1987) was a very special man, although he is not as famous now. He was a very representative realist of the thirties and sixties of the 20th century. The portraits of Rohill van der Wyden and Raphael Sawyer are about the reality of the here and now. The depiction of reality is characteristic of Western art, and in the Chinese and Islamic traditions, it is rare to find a single focus and such an obsession with reality.
Exhibition view, Raphael Sawyer, Self-Portrait, 1980, the most recent work in the exhibition.
Roshil van der Wey and Raphael Sawyer were centuries apart. What was considered reality in the 15th century for Roshil van der Wey was to depict every detail accurately and precisely; Raphael Sawyer, on the other hand, used painting more as an interesting medium, leaving more room for subjectivity, another feature of the evolution of Western art – the past was absolutely focused on object reality, which ended with the complete involvement of subjectivity, which is more evident in Impressionism and Abstraction.
The first part of the exhibition "Six Hundred Years of Masterpieces: Masterpieces from the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum" focuses on the faces of the Renaissance.
The Paper: In this exhibition, Bronzino's "Cosimo de Medici in Armor" is similar to an exhibit from the Uffizi Gallery in Italy that is being exhibited at the Dongyi Art Museum in Shanghai.
Solana: I'm not an expert on this. As I understand it, Bronzino was a court painter of the Medici family. From 1539, Bronzino began to serve Duke Cosimo I de' Medici (1389-1464) and created the official image of the duke. There are more than 20 known painted facsimiles and reproductions of Cosimo de' Medici in Armour. The Thyssen Museum collection, which came to the Pudong Art Museum, is believed to be another version of the prototype in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The most obvious difference between the two is the background of the picture, which consists of different colored curtains: the blue curtain in the Italian prototype, and the green one in this one. Other details differed in the portraits of the same series include the addition of a gold sweater collar and a column painted with the Medici crest or inscribed.
Exhibition view of Pudong Art Museum, Bronzino's work Cosimo de' Medici in Armour, circa 1545
Exhibition view at the Dongyi Art Museum, Shanghai, Studio Bronzino, Cosimo de' Medici in Armour, circa 1540-1543, Uffizi Museum (currently on display at the Dongyi Museum)
Cosimo de' Medici not only expanded the wealth and political influence of his father Giovanni Medici, but also enjoyed a higher prestige in the field of culture and art; He also had great ambitions and was the first Florentine tyrant and founder of the Medici political dynasty.
On the one hand, the Medici built magnificent palaces in Florence, and on the other hand, married their princesses to the monarchs of other European countries.
Bronzino was a court painter whose main task was to produce official images of monarchs and use them in political and other propaganda occasions. Like all great leaders, Cosimo is portrayed as a strong man in armor. Cosimo should have never been using that armor, and he wore it not to go to war, but to show that it was strong enough to defeat the enemy.
Bronzino, Portrait of Cosimo, circa 1545, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia (not exhibited in this exhibition)
The Paper: In the section "19th Century Europe: French Realism and Impressionism", there is a work that has been repeatedly mentioned in the exhibition promotion, Manet's "Female Knight", what is the position of this work in Manet's work?
Solana: Manet painted many symbolic female figures. They have different styles at different stages of Manet's work. "The Female Knight" has little to do with Manet's most famous Olympia.
Although Manet was born into a wealthy family and was well educated, he liked to provoke the audience with his eyes in his early days and enjoyed this visually shocking "game", but in his later years Manet was a non-inflammatory person, and I think he was painting entirely for himself. I think he was amusing himself.
Exhibition view, Edouard Manet, The Female Knight, circa 1882, oil on canvas, 73x52 cm, collection of the National Museum of Thyssen-Bornemisza
I think he was "seduced" by the woman in the painting. On the one hand, he portrayed slender figures, decorated women with precious stones, which was very feminine; On the other hand, black clothing shows masculine characteristics. The two are linked and full of magical charm. Probably influenced by certain literary texts of the time, he created this complex work. But in any case, he wants to give us a strong new image of women - independent modern women.
Manet, World's Fair 1867, collection of the Norwegian National Gallery (not exhibited in this exhibition)
In the middle of Manet's World's Fair 1867, now in the National Gallery of Norway, there is also a woman on a horse, an active and fashionable figure, like the embodiment of modern Paris, who seems to be pursuing something dynamic and timeless, which is his interest. As for black, as he himself said: "Black is a very difficult color to use, or a color that is difficult to use for painting, it is difficult to control." This is a bigger challenge. "I think he liked it very much and was able to use black.
The history of art from the collector's point of view is limited but true
The Paper: The 70 paintings in this exhibition span six centuries, how were these works selected? Or, why 70 works from the Renaissance to the 600 years of art history?
Solana: 10% of the 775 works in the Thyssen Museum's collection came to Shanghai, covering all eras and styles. This was also the idea of Baron Thyssen's collection at that time - to be able to collect all stages and genres of Western oil painting history, providing a wide-angle perspective that did not focus on a certain era.
We can't say that the exhibition has all the historical parts, but it does try to present a complete history of painting in different genres, different stages, and different periods. Of course, some collections are too fragile to travel far, or some borrow exhibitions from other museums and fail to bring them to Shanghai. So choice is a limited and pragmatic thing, and we try to choose the best works that represent as many moments and dilemmas in art history as possible. I think of the options available in our museum, this is the best option.
Presentation of the chronology of "600 Years of Art History" at the entrance of the exhibition.
The Paper: In six centuries of art history, apart from the highlighted Raphael, Rubens, Canaletto, Manet, etc., which artists have not received enough attention (or underestimated) before? How are they interpreted in the exhibition?
Solana: I think Georgia O'Keeffe has been underrated in the past, and she's getting more and more attention right now. On the other hand, there are artists who are grossly underestimated or forgotten. For example, Domenico Gnoli (1933-1970), probably most viewers have not heard of him, I think he should be given a chance.
Exhibition view, O'Keeffe's 1954 work From the Great Plains II (right); On the left is Domenico Gnoli's 1967 work Armchair No. 2
Among the exhibits is Matisse's 1902 Yellow Flowers. It may be disappointing for viewers expecting to see iconic works, but this is what the Thyssen Collection has, and our collection of Matisse may not be as spectacular, mainly its early works, in the private collection of Baroness Thyssen (Carmen Thyssen) there are more typical, Matisse 1920s works, but currently in a private collection and not participating in this exhibition. For this exhibition, limitations cannot be avoided. Matisse is important in 600 years of art history and needs to be included, but this exhibition is not his most glorious moment, but only a sample of the stages of his artistic path.
Exhibition view, Matisse, Yellow Flowers, 1902
Another German expressionist painting by Kirchner Ludwig (1880-1938), circa 1936-1938, Junker Borden in the Snow, is also a good example. He was also an underrated artist, and shortly after the painting was completed, he committed suicide. He was one of the founders of the "Bridge Society" and usually received more attention in his early artistic career. Kirchner has lived in Davos, Switzerland, since 1917. During this time, he painted many landscapes, pursuing grandeur, silence and immortality. Later, his art was classified as "decadent" by the Nazis, and even in 1937 639 of his works were removed from German museums and confiscated. Unbearable by this persecution and torture, he committed suicide in 1938 in Switzerland.
Exhibition view, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Junker Borden in the Snow, circa 1936-1938, oil on canvas, 100x120 cm
Although people at the time thought that his Swiss painting was weak, it even said that "he was influenced by alcohol, etc., and he stopped painting." "But I think Juncker Borden in the Snow is the exception, it's strong and important. I think this work has a great connection with Chinese painting. The German and Chinese obsession with mountains are related, and German painters also like to pay attention to mountains and clouds.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Junkerboden in the Snow (partial)
The Paper: In your opinion, from what perspective is the history of art presented in the exhibition? Is it universally recognized or the collector Thyssen's perspective?
Solana: It's really more of a collector's point of view. In 1932 Heinrich Thyssen bought Villa Favorita on the shores of Lake Lugano in Switzerland. He built a personal gallery there and began actively searching the international art market for classic masterpieces. When Heinrich died in 1947, most of his art collection belonged to his youngest son, Hans Heinrich. Hans opened the Villa Favorita to the public, bought back some paintings from his siblings, and began acquiring Old Master works. From 1961, Hans Heinrich wanted to add a personal touch to his family's collection and began to enter modern art collections. His keen interest in German expressionist work soon expanded to focus on the wave of avant-garde art of the 20th century.
Exhibition view, Fernand Léger, The Disc, 1918
Influenced by Hispanic wife Carmen · Severa's influence Hans decided to bring the collection to Madrid. In 1988, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen signed a contract with the Spanish government to lend 775 works, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum opened to the public in October 1992. Only 8 months later, another agreement was signed and the works were sold to the Spanish government. In 2004, a new wing was added to the museum to house the Carmen Thyssen Collection. In 2021, the Spanish government signed an important agreement with the Carmen Thyssen Collection Fund to lend the collection to museums for a period of 15 years.
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
So the museum's collection and history come from the Thyssen family, and in order to organize this exhibition, we also thought together with the Chinese audience, thinking about the evolution of art in different periods and different eras. For example, in the evolution of landscape painting, I think that the 17th century was the development of Dutch landscape painting as a link, and artists began to use landscape paintings with a wide vision to depict meadows, forests, canals, and roads to form a magnificent landscape, which may have something in common with the development of Chinese landscape painting.
Exhibition view
Exhibition view, Jacob · Isaacson · Fan · Leisdahl, The Road Through the Farmland near the Zuiderzee, circa 1660-1662, oil on canvas
The Paper: How did the "600-year masterpiece: a masterpiece from the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum" come to Shanghai? What kind of cooperation will Thyssen Museum and Shanghai have in the future?
Solana: Japan tried very hard to come up with such an exhibition, but the board decided it was premature at the time. Then when we approached the Pudong Art Museum, we thought that the time and conditions were just right.
We are passionate about our cooperation with China and future exhibitions, and we have some ideas to follow. One of them is the great Spanish painters put together with fashion. For example, last year's dialogue between Pablo Picasso and fashion designer Gabrielle Chanel at the Thyssen Museum in Madrid for the first time revealed how their friendship influenced their respective creations, and I think Shanghai audiences will also enjoy this kind of exhibition that combines fashion and art history.