Exhibition As A Way To Show The Latest Progress Of Art History

Manet/Velazquez:The French Taste for Spanish Painting was held from 4 April to 29 June, 2003 in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musee d’Orsay, and the Reunion des Musees Nationaux have collaborated on this exhibition. The entire exhibition is held under seven themes and in nine exhibitionhalls.206 oils and prints from Spain, France and the United States are presented. This exhibition recorded the French collectors’ and the museums’ employment of the Spanish work collection techniques, especially the ones that facilitated the opening of The Galerie Espagnole at the Louvre Museum in 1838. The exhibition also recorded he French artists came to understand, appreciate and even emulate Spanish painting of the Golden Age. Edouard Manet is an outstanding member among these artists. He had been emulating the paintings of Diego Velazquez since he was an apprentice. After he went to Spain in 1865, he saw the original works of Velazquez and further planted the Spanish elements in his works. The exhibition also includes the American artists’ works, from which we can have a glance of their learning on the Spanish arts.The exhibition utilizes the previous academic achievements and turns them into visual experiences. In addition, the exhibition provides opportunities for the experts specializing on this period of the art history to gather together, explore the paintings exhibited, and study the background of the art history. Besides, research papers dedicated by the curator and cooperating experts on this exhibition are added into the diverse catalogue published with this exhibition. All the work will provide further references on the study of this topic.