Solon Economou

El Greco meets the Brits at the MFA

For those of us on the Cape, residents and visitors alike, the world-renowned Boston Museum of Fine Arts is just over an hour's drive away.  Two exhibits currently running warrant a trip.  I went this weekend.

The first one, El Greco to Velazquez, Art during the Reign of Philip III, runs through July 27 at the Gund Gallery, so you have plenty of time to catch it.

The second, a rather strange presentation, Rhythms of Modern Life, British Prints 1914-1939, runs through June 1 at the Torf Gallery, so you've got only about two weeks left for this one.

El Greco has always been one of my favorite artists (Born Domenikos Theotokopoulos in Crete, El Greco means "The Greek" in Espanol), but I've had little use for Velazquez.  However, among some of the other artists represented I did find a new favorite, Luis Tristan.

El Greco worked in Toledo, Spain, and the first painting you see upon entering the gallery is a dramatic landscape of Toledo on a stormy night.  I had never seen a landscape by El Greco, and the plaque next to the painting noted that very few exist.

Next to that is the better-known Saint Martin and the Beggar (shown).  I tell people if you want to spot an El Greco across the room, look for two things:  the obviously elongated figures (Was he astigmatic?) and the two middle fingers of the subjects' hands.  For some reason-maybe a "trademark" of sorts--El Greco had a tendency to paint them pressed together.

El Greco painted in Italy for a while, and it is thought he may have been a disciple of Titian.  Some of his early works look like Titians.  I spotted a Titian-like painting from across the room, which I pegged as an El Greco, but it was The Adoration of the Shepherds by Luis Tristan.  The plaque hinted that Tristan may have been inspired by Titian, hence the similarities to El Greco.

About 60 paintings by El Greco, Velazquez, Tristan and others are in the exhibit.

The other exhibit, Rhythms of Modern Life, British Prints 1914-1939, was, at first look, strange and boring.  It wasn't until a second look that I got to appreciate it.  The prints were color linocuts created at London's Grosvenor School of Modern Art.  Most had some kind of semi-circular motif, from the scullers (I guess that's what you call people rowing sculls) to the riders in The Tube Train, the London underground.

Admission to the Gund Gallery exhibits is $23 ($21 for seniors) which includes the $17 general admission to the MFA.  General admission covers the Torf Gallery, exhibiting the British Prints, and all the other galleries.

Prices at the museum café and restaurant have increased.  A good salad now costs almost $20, so I'd eat lunch or dinner "off-campus," so to speak, or just wait till you get home. 

Also, you have to factor in gas costs for roughly a 140-mile round trip, which, thanks to our wonderful friends in OPEC and to our own homegrown oil profiteers, can add a bit more.

It's a good idea to tie the trip into other Boston business, which is what I did.  Or tie it in to dinner at one of your favorite Boston restaurants.  The exhibits are worth it.  Enjoy them.

P.S.  A dual (two-person) membership, about $100 a year, is your best buy at the MFA.  It will allow two people in anytime and get you four complimentary tickets to all the Gund Gallery exhibits.  With as few as three visits a year, you've got your money's worth.