The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza will be presenting an exhibition that connects the work of fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciagato the tradition of Spanish painting of the 16th to the 20th centuries. This is the first major exhibition on this Basque designer to be held in Madrid in almost fifty years and the first that brings together his designs and a selection of paintings by leading names in the history of Spanish art, which the curators of the exhibit explain was one of his principal sources of inspiration.
The exhibition includes 90 items of dress, many of them never previously exhibited in public, and 55 paintings, among them works by El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Carreño de Miranda, Zurbarán, Goya, Madrazo and Zuloaga.
The exhibition is structured as a chronological survey through the paintings, accompanied by designs associated with each style or painter. The museum spokesperson says, “These are connections based on conceptual elements, on architectural forms and volumes and on chromatic echoes, which together give rise to a fascinating dialogue between fashion and painting and between the creativity of this brilliant designer and his sources of inspiration. “
