IRONY IS IN THE WASH

In this 1871 painting by Seville artist José Jiménez Aranda, a group of women are working on their laundry.

The folksy characters of the washerwomen still conform to the Romantic trend of reporting on the lives of ordinary hard-working citizens, but the narrative now demands more insight into the psychology of the characters and the irony of the situation.

** Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)

ART SAVES SPANISH TOWN AND SURPRISES THE WORLD!

Looking for an inspiring story? How about the unique concept of an "open-air" art gallery that transformed a deprived village of 323 inhabitants in the Spanish province of Castellón, and is now part of a worldwide circuit of street art exhibitions?

Report by Karla Darocas, Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com) for SpainLifestyle.com

THE MYSTERY OF EL GRECO'S PAINTING OF SAINT SEBASTIAN

In his illustrious career, El Greco painted Saint Sebastian three times. The last of his three portraits from 1610 to 1614 found its way into the Prado Museum - but in two parts. Why?

Report by Karla Darocas, Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com) for SpainLifestyle.com

EL GRECO'S TINY TRIBUTE TO THE FATHER OF THE SACRED FAMILY

Why is El Greco's painting, the Flight into Egypt, c. 1570, so special? It is only a small oil painting on a prepared pine panel. It is mainly a landscape depiction with the Holy Family as figures in it. It shows El Greco's newly acquired knowledge of the Venetian style of painting, which was popular at the time due to the great Venetian master Titian.

* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas, Hons. B.A. (KarlaDarocas.com)

A TRIBUTE TO A VICTORIOUS VALENCIANO - José de Ribera (1591-1652)

When I lived in Xàtiva in 2001, the town where my husband was born, I walked past the statue of José de Ribera every day. Our flat was on the same street as the basilica and the old hospital where my husband was born, and at the other end was the statue of José de Ribera, or Jusepe, as he is called in the Valencian language. 

José de Ribera was born in Xàtiva in 1591. His father was Simón Ribera, a shoemaker by trade, and his mother was Margarita Cucó. Although there are many documentary and bibliographical sources describing many aspects of Ribera's life and work, there is nothing about his childhood and youth in Xàtiva.

Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com) (c) SpainLifestyle.com