The Hispanic Society Museum and Library's traveling exhibition, "Spirit & Splendour: El Greco, Velázquez and the Hispanic Baroque," has reached its final stop at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas. The show features 57 works from the Hispanic Society's permanent collection, including all three of its Diego Velázquez paintings, and runs from August 24. The Blanton iteration adds key pieces from its own collection, such as El Greco's 1570s Pietà and a sculpture by Luisa Roldán, to contextualize the Spanish and Latin American masterpieces.
This tour matters because it makes rarely seen treasures from the Hispanic Society's storied collection accessible to a wider US audience following the institution's lengthy renovation. The exhibition also highlights Texas's deep historical ties to Spanish and Mexican culture, while the Blanton's additions underscore the importance of Latin American art and artists like Nicolás de Correa and Melchor Pérez Holguín, offering local audiences a bridge to their own heritage.