The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents “Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life,” the first US exhibition in 25 years of Eighteenth Century Spanish painter Luis Meléndez (1715‱780). LACMA’s presentation will be the only West Coast showing of this exhibition and will be on view on the third floor of the Ahmanson Building through January 3.
Meléndez is now recognized not only as one of the greatest Spanish painters of the Eighteenth Century, but also as one of the most accomplished still life painters of the time. Drawing works from major American and European museums as well as private collections, the exhibition showcases nearly 30 paintings by Meléndez †many of which have never been exhibited before. In addition, a selection of Eighteenth Century Spanish kitchenware, similar to those used by the artist as studio props, is featured.
Although recognition of Meléndez has been eclipsed over the centuries by that of fellow Spaniard Francisco Goya (1746‱828), Meléndez’s work has received increasing attention from scholars and collectors in recent years. Modern scholarship of his work, including extensive technical examination, has taken on new momentum in the last few decades, providing insight into the artist’s meticulous approach to rendering still lifes.
Meléndez’s acute realism and the austerity of his compositions anticipate aspects of modern art, demonstrating a sensibility that resonates even today.
Nine of the still lifes from the royal commission, which come from the Prado Museum, are on view in the exhibition. Meléndez, however, had not always viewed himself as a painter of still lifes. His extraordinary “Self-Portrait,” 1746, which is on loan from the Louvre Museum, exhibits his ambition to succeed in the more elevated genre of portrait and history painting. In his portrait, Meléndez represents himself as a painter of figures, not still lifes. His haughty expression and the simple elegance of his figure set against a plain background give the portrait a commanding immediacy. The work has been recognized as one of the most engaging self-portraits of the Eighteenth Century.
Common kitchenware, a selection of which is also on view, often served as props in Meléndez’s paintings, reappearing in individual paintings, and rearranged or juxtaposed with different edibles, including fruits, vegetables or cheese. In “Still Life with Bread, Bottle and Jug,” circa 1770, and “Still Life with Bread, Grapes, Jug and Receptacles,” circa 1770, the bread, a ceramic jug with a broken plate as a lid and wooden handled utensils are arranged identically, except the viewpoint has shifted. Although the paintings share motifs, each one is strikingly inventive.
Still lifes from the Prado Museum, which are set against rocky landscapes, include “Still Life with Watermelons” and “Apples in a Landscape,” 1771; “Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Azaroles, and Grapes in a Landscape,” 1771. These original, even eccentric works mark a stark departure from Meléndez’s more usual set-ups on wooden tabletops in dark, undefined interiors.
LACMA is at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard. For information, 323-857-6000 or www.lacma.org .
