Antonio López' work is wide ranging. Not only does he choose a variety of subjects, but he also makes use of different materials. The Drents Museum shows all these facets of his art through dozens of paintings, drawings and sculptures. In total, the work in the exhibition Antonio López - Master of Spanish realism spans about seventy years. This allows visitors to follow López' entire career closely.
Detailed working method
Antonio López is k…
Antonio López' work is wide ranging. Not only does he choose a variety of subjects, but he also makes use of different materials. The Drents Museum shows all these facets of his art through dozens of paintings, drawings and sculptures. In total, the work in the exhibition Antonio López - Master of Spanish realism spans about seventy years. This allows visitors to follow López' entire career closely.
Detailed working method
Antonio López is known for his extremely detailed working method. One of his cityscapes of Madrid - the painting Madrid desde la torre de bomberos de Vallecas, on display in the exhibition in Assen - even took him sixteen years to complete, with breaks of course. López often chooses to return to the same place at the same time every year. It is characteristic of his art: López always tries to capture the essence of an object. He does this by leaving nothing to chance. Light, colour and shape: everything is carefully studied and imitated. In doing so, he transforms everyday subjects into rich works of art.
Known worldwide
In 1993, 2008 and 2011, Antonio Lopéz had major solo exhibitions at Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid). In 2014 he completed a monumental painting of the Spanish royal family, which he had already started in 1994. His work is included in museum collections around the world, such as the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg, Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Antonio López also became famous for the film El sol del membrillo. In this 1992 film, directed by Victor Erice and awarded several prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, López is filmed for months while he paints a quince tree in his garden. To this day it remains an absolute classic in film history.
Antonio López – Master of Spanish Realism can be seen from January 28 to June 2, 2024 and fits into the series of exhibitions of international realism, such as The American Dream on American realism (2017), Sprezzatura on Italian realism (2019) and Viva la Frida! – Life and art of Frida Kahlo (2021). The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated publication with contributions from Dutch and Spanish authors.
