Photo: Chen Xia/GT

The Museum of Art Pudong launched "The Greats of Six Centuries" exhibition on Thursday in Shanghai, showcasing 70 paintings from the Spanish art museum Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, encompassing different genres of portrait, landscape, still life. Art experts and museum insiders call it a new cultural feast that will promote and enhance China-Europe cultural understanding and exchanges.

Guillermo Solana, artistic director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum introduced masterpieces including Vincent van Gogh's "The Stevedores in Arles," Edouard Manet's "Horsewoman, Full-Face" and Peter Paul Rubens' "Venus and Cupid," among others, to media and visitors during a guided tour on Wednesday.

"The Spanish Embassy in China has played a significant role in helping make this cooperation and exhibition possible. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of Spain-China establishing diplomatic relations, as early as four or three years ago, the embassy was planning more bilateral cultural exchanges to enhance mutual understanding among Spanish and Chinese people," Solona told the Global Times, adding that this is the first time paintings from the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza have been showcased outside of Spain.

"It's not easy to choose 70 most representative art pieces from our total collection of 785 paintings for Chinese audience, and when the exhibition concludes in Shanghai on November 12, 2023, the paintings will go back to Spain as they are the exhibited items (not kept in the warehouse) in our museum and the management hopes that they won't be absent for too long," said Solana.

Eight different themes were highlighted across eight rooms in Museum of Art Pudong. In the selection of Faces of the Renaissance (Portraiture in Northern and Southern Europe), paintings of 15th and 16th centuries from Flemish, German and Italian schools were presented. Among the exhibits, "Portrait of a Young Man" by Raphael and some of his closest collaborators, exquisitely rendered, depicts the bust of an adolescent boy with his body in profile and his face turned toward the viewers. It has been suggested that the subject was either Alessandro de'Medici, the future Duke of Florence, or Pier Luigi Farnese. The palette of predominantly muted colors and the delicate light effects make this piece a very beautiful work.

Peter Paul Rubens' mythological piece "Venus and Cupid" was in the section Baroque Painting: Realism and Emotion. Rubens was one of the artists who best embodied the Baroque ideals in his painting. The piece is an outstanding example of the vitality and voluptuousness that characterizes Rubens' narrative painting in the freedom with which he habitually depicts the female form.

Canaletto's "the Grand Canal from San Vio, Venice" was in the section The 18th Century in Europe: Views, Landscapes, Portraits and Other Themes. Canaletto painted the city's focal points such as its main artery, the Grand Canal, in this case viewed from San Vio.

Vincent van Gogh's "The Stevedores in Arles," Edouard Manet's "Horsewoman, Full-Face" were in the section 19th Century in Europe: French Realism and Impressionism. Manet and the Impressionists captured everyday experiences and inhabitants of the big city on their canvases. In the of work of Van Gogh, with color contrast, the brushstrokes became expressive and agitated.

Other sections include: American 19th Century Painting, 20th Century in Europe: Expressionism, and Postwar European and American Art.

"It's really amazing to appreciate the European and American masterpieces with the context provided by Mr. Solana. I'm pleased to see young Chinese students even pupils from primary school to have the chance to have close contact of Western art in Shanghai." Fanny Fu, a Chinese university student who had spent one university semester in Paris, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"The Museum of Art Pudong is dedicated to introducing prestigious art pieces worldwide to Chinese audience and promoting cultural exchanges between China and the world," Li Minkun, director of Museum of Art Pudong, told the media on Wednesday, noting that "this selection of 70 paintings brings together the most representative pieces from Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, encompassing various styles and movements in the history of European and North American art, which is a good opportunity for art enthusiasts in China."

Both Solana and Li mentioned that more cooperation possibilities are being discussed to better support China-Europe cultural exchanges.