José Arpa: A Spanish Painter in Texas

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José Arpa: A Spanish Painter in Texas

José Arpa: A Spanish Painter in Texas focuses on Arpa’s compelling work that has influenced many great artists, including Porfirio Salinas, and brought Impressionism to Texas. The exhibition opens on Saturday, June 24, and runs through August 27, 2017. Explore some of Arpa’s most well-known paintings, including Burning of the Heroes of the Alamo, which shows his skill with painted light in the flames reflected in the nighttime sky and on the façade of the Alamo. Discover Sancho Panza, one of Arpa’s 46 oil paintings based on the Spanish novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, and study some of Arpa’s earliest works painted in Europe. Beyond Texas, Arpa (1858-1952) remains a little-known artist, though during his lifetime he was a widely respected and well-loved figure pivotal to the development of art in every place he lived. In 1899, Arpa traveled to San Antonio, where he exhibited at the 1900 International Fair. Later, he divided his time between Mexico, Spain, and San Antonio, until 1923, when he founded his own painting school in San Antonio, where he soon became one of the city’s most successful artists. In 1926, assisted by his nephew, artist Xavier González, who for a time taught at the Witte, Arpa began teaching plein air painting in Bandera. Arpa was a brilliant colorist whose skill in handling sunlight earned him the nickname “Sunshine Man.” One Arpa expert has noted that the artist “was driven by his interest in the study of light.” The Witte Museum is proud to present Michael Grauer, Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs/Curator of Art and Western Heritage of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum and curator of José Arpa: A Spanish Painter in Texas, on Wednesday, July 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for a presentation on the exhibition as a part of the Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner Series. José Arpa: A Spanish Painter in Texas is generously supported by The William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation and the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture.

Date June 24, 2017 - August 27, 2017Time 10:00 am - 5:00 pmVenue Witte MuseumLocation 3801 Broadway Street San Antonio, TX 78209 United States Venue Google Map Link + Google MapVenue Website View Venue Website

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