Nicolás Cortés Gallery

The genre of portraiture allows us to establish connections with people in both a physical and a psychological sense. Firstly, it introduces us to the subjects who posed for the work, transmitting aspects such as their social status, clothing, features and character across the ages. Secondly, it functions as a means to delve into the artist’s own mind, revealing his or her intentions when connecting with the model.

On a third level we find the viewer and our way of attempting to empathise with the figure portrayed in order to subconsciously contribute our own experiences, making it possible for us to transcend social, spatial and temporal distances.

It can thus be said that every portrait functions as a mirror of the human psyche: a triple mirror that reflects people from other eras as well as the sensibility of the artist who has immortalised them and which, in an indirect sense, leads us to encounter an image of ourselves.

The present exhibition, in collaboration with Dolce&Gabbana Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria, offers a survey that encourages a reflection on the evolution of the portrait and of fashion from the 15^th to the 20^th century. The portraiture from the late Middle Ages is shown by the extraordinary panel by the Master of A.E, which shows the donors’ faces. The Renaissance is represented by some of the leading portraitists of the period, such as Bartolomeo Passerotti with three artworks by his hand, Lavinia Fontana and Federico Barocci, while the powerful personality of Baroque art is present in the form of important portraits by Maíno and Van der Hamen, among others. The variety and charm of the 19th and 20th centuries are conveyed by the subjects painted by Raimundo de Madrazo, Zuloaga, Corcos and Romero de Torres, the latter represented by six of his celebrated depictions of Spanish women.

We would like to express our particular thanks to the Dolce&Gabbana Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria atelier, who -inspired by the artworks presented here- have selected some of their spectacular creations for this exhibition, offering us a contemporary interpretation of fashions of earlier eras.

Concurrently, the gallery has designed a 3D tour that will allow users to enjoy an immersive virtual experience related to this Exhibition.