Matisse and the Alhambra 1910-2010

Matisse and the Alhambra 1910-2010

From 15 October to 28 February 2011

With the celebration of the centenary of the visit of the painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) made to the Alhambra in 1910, the Board of the monument celebrates the occasion with a superb exhibition at the Palace of Charles V, from October 15 to February 28, 2011, with a hundred works by Matisse and Hispano art, recounting his fascination of the French painter with the Eastern world.

The idea of this exhibition was created with the appearance of Matisse's signature in the guestbook of the Alhambra. After further research has brought to light the fruits of this journey, reflected in later works done by the artist. The exhibition also includes letters, photographs and personal belongings of the artist.

At the Alhambra he was fascinated by the decorative shapes such as light was retained in each room or corner. Nazari was in the palace where he saw the union between art and decoration embedded in the light, the perfumes, colors and arabic designs. His visit was a period in which he was immersed in a new aesthetic search, years later, he confessed that "the revelation came to me from the East".

Went by train from Paris on October 15, 1910 and after a series of calls came to Madrid, staying at a hotel near the Prado Museum. Of his visit to the gallery said in a telegram to a friend: "Time is magnificent and the Prado exquisite ...".

In Madrid he bought a alpujarreño tapestry on a blue background with raw grenades, which would reproduce some of his works. Here he met the painter Francisco Iturrino, who suggested that he moved for work together in Andalusia and Seville. The exhibition presents for the first time the two pictures painted in the studio they shared in Seville: Bodegón Sevilla (1910) and Bodegón Sevilla II (1910-1911), from the collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

This exhibition is an event of prime importance in Spain. Among the pieces shown are fifty works in oils, drawings, lithographs, ceramics and sculpture. It also outlines sixty pieces of Islamic art, ceramics, glass, bronze and tapestries of great artistic value as well as letters, postcards and personal photographs of the painter.

With the sample has published a catalog of the exhibition in three languages, Spanish, French and English, with two series of conferences with leading experts in the work of the painter in the center of Madrid Caixa Forum and the Palace of Charles V in Granada. Access is free and visitors have an audio guide service and an educational program.

Location: Palace of Charles V
Date: October 15, 2010 to February 28, 2011

• Sunday through Thursday: 9:00 to 18:00 h
• Friday and Saturday: 9:00 to 20:00 h
• Special hours for access to disabled: daily from 11:30 to 12:30 and 16:30 to 17:30 h