Baroque Masterpieces from Spain and Latin America Travel to Austin 

Baroque masterpiece paintings have traveled to The University of Texas at Austin and can be seen at a new Blanton Museum of Art exhibition titled, “Spirit & Splendor: El Greco, Velazquez, and the Hispanic Baroque.”  

On view August 24, 2025-February 1, 2026, this major exhibition presents 57 works from the renowned collection of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library.  

“The Hispanic Society’s collection is unmatched in its depth and beauty, and we’re honored to bring these masterpieces to Austin for the first time,” said Simone Wicha, Director of the Blanton Museum of Art. “This exhibition reflects the Blanton’s evolution into a museum of global reach while remaining deeply rooted in our region’s cultural history.”  

The Baroque style, characterized by dramatic realism, opulence, and religious devotion, will showcase paintings commissioned by the Spanish Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

The Baroque style at the time was meant to signify exactly what the exhibition’s title suggests: spirit and splendor. The commissioned art was intended to convey Spanish prestige, glory and Catholic teachings to the rest of the world.  

The exhibition showcases this rich and complex artistic legacy, featuring works by renowned Spanish painters such as El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. 

Their works will be shown alongside Latin American artists like Luis Juárez, Baltasar de Echave Ibía, José de Páez, and Melchor Pérez Holguín, who reinterpreted the Baroque aesthetic in the Spanish viceroyalties of New Spain (present-day Mexico) and Peru by integrating the local artistic traditions.  

Public tours of the exhibition will be offered in English and Spanish on select Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout the run of the exhibition. 

Learn more about Spirit & Splendor at the Blanton Museum of Art website.