An exclusive guided tour of the National Gallery of Art’s marvelous collection of Spanish paintings. Tour provided by Russell Sale, the Gallery’s Spanish art expert:

The earliest Spanish paintings in the National Gallery date from the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, who reigned from 1474 until 1504. The collection contains works that reflect the era’s preference for devotional subjects painted in the Flemish style, and various are of historic as well as aesthetic interest.

There are also works that reflect the seventeenth century’s interest in the material world, which fostered a new realism in painting and saw the introduction of secular subjects such as still life and genre scenes. Dominated by such masters as Juan van der Hamen y León, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Juan de Valdés Leal, and, above all, Diego Velázquez, the century has since been thought of as a golden age of Spanish painting.

There are works from the eighteenth century, when the Bourbons who succeeded the Habsburgs on the Spanish throne commissioned foreign artists, among them Anton Raphael Mengs and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, to decorate their palaces. The first native painter of genius since Velázquez was Francisco de Goya, whose innovations anticipated much of the artistic exploration of the nineteenth century.

Finally, there are twentieth century works from masters such as Pablo Picasso.

Cost: Free
RSVP Here (Space Limited)

October 22, 2009
2:00PM

National Gallery of Art
Meet in the West Building Rotunda
333 Constitution Ave NW,
Washington, DC

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Please join us at Biagio to enjoy DC resident Mark Parascandola’s photography. He will be showing a series of photographs of Spain, and you will have the pleasure of also indulging in a Spanish-wine tasting and chocolate tasting . — The exhibit lasts throughout the month of October, but this special wine and chocolate-tasting reception will be held at Biagio from on Thursday October 8th, 6 – 8:30 pm.

This reception is part of the month long activities planned by SpainDC. While enjoying his photography, you are welcomed to a complimentary Spanish wine tasting with another local company, Tradewinds Specialty Imports. At least 3 wines will be tasted that evening, all of which are award-winning, and top-rated, in their respective varietals!

Spain has more vineyard acreage than any other country in the world, and it was certainly no easy task searching for these wines as they made their virgin entry into the US … Luckily, all you have to do is trek across to Biagio on Thursday October 8th, 2009 6:00 – 8:30pm

The 3 wines being tasted are all available in Washington DC, and are exclusively distributed by Tradewinds. As you make your journey throughout Spain via Mark’s series of photos, we beg you to indulge with a specially selected flight of wines. The wines range from the more well known, to more secret, regions of Spain. Regardless, these are all celebrity wines making a splash in the US. Tradewinds’ wines have been the exclusive wine provider for a number of star-studded events including the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in DC, Taste of Tennis / US Open kick-off party in NY, White House Media Correspondent’s Weekend, as well as many private parties in DC.

Mark Parascandola is a photographer based in Washington DC with family roots in Almeria in the south of Spain.

Biagio Fine Chocolate provides the Washington, DC metropolitan area with the finest collection of artisanal chocolate from around the world, as well as from local chocolatiers. They are located on 18th street between the Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle neighborhoods. Address: 1904 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 (between T Street and Florida Avenue)

Tradewinds Specialty Imports Tradewinds Specialty Imports hand-selects the best Spanish wines from talented family wineries, bringing you distinctive, exclusive wines that are new to America.

Thursday, October 8
6:00 – 8:30

Studio B at Biagio Fine Chocolate
1904 18th Street NW (downstairs)
Washington DC
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Spanish Classical : Carmen de Biset ( Aragonize), Paso Doble, Rumbas, Middle Eastern Dance ( Super Belly dancers), Jotas, La leyenda de el Beso, Bulerias, Ballet and tap dance

October 2 – 31
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 8, 6:00-8:30 with Spanish chocolate and wine samples

TBA
3200 Jerman Town Rd,
Oakton Va. 22124
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Flamenco Concert at The St. Matthew’s Multi-Cultural Festival

October 3, 2009 – 6:00pm

Kings’ Contrivance Interfaith Center of Columbia, MD
7271 Eden Brook Drive
Columbia, MD  21046

The landscape of Spain is dotted with abandoned structures, ghosts of a multi-layered history. Preserved in the arid climate, these architectural remains reveal the impact of time, weather, and transient visitors who have left their own mark. The subjects in this series of photographs include the Carabanchel prison in Madrid, a salt-eroded church on the coast of Almeria, leftover “spaghetti western” film sets, and the Cortijo del Fraile, the site of events that inspired Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding.

Mark Parascandola is a photographer based in Washington DC with family roots in Almeria in the south of Spain.

October 2 – 31
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 8, 6:00-8:30 with Spanish chocolate and wine samples

Studio B at Biagio Fine Chocolate
1904 18th Street NW (downstairs)
Washington DC
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http://www.parascandola.com
www.biagiochocolate.com

GALA announces an evening of sizzling flamenco dance and music, headlined by dancer Omayra Amaya, a member of the renowned Spanish gypsy flamenco family of Carmen Amaya, together with Edwin Aparicio, the most popular male flamenco soloist in the nation. The evening also includes Jennifer Corey, Miss DC 2009, who will perform a musical selection to open the program, and a silent and live auction featuring exclusive getaways to Argentina, Mexico, and Spain, sumptuous dinners at local restaurants, artwork by leading Latino visual artists, and much more. A cocktail reception to “meet and greet” the artists will follow the performance. Honorary Hosts for Íntimo are the Honorable Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Craig and Julie Feied, Nancy Folger, Michael Kappaz, Dorothy and Bill McSweeny, and Malan Strong. Íntimo is sponsored by American Income Life, Donatelli Development, and To Your Taste Catering.

TICKETS for the special ÍNTIMO benefit are $150-$500 for VIP seating and $50 general admission.  For reservations or to become a sponsor, call 202-234-7174 or 800-494-TIXS (8497), or visit www.galatheatre.org.

Parking is available at a reduced rate of $4 at the Giant garage on Park Road, NW.

October 14, 2009
7:00pm

Gala Theatre
3333 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20010
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The Cosmos Club in Washington explores the personality of Spanish artist Salvador Dali in one of its Art Committee Dinner Lectures. His long years as an artist and entrepeneur made him known worldwide, with his iconic trademark, the long and pointed moustache, his eccentric manners and his Surrealist images. Those were the years when he was acclaimed in New York and Paris but, as Meryle Secrest tries to show, at the end of his life there were changes in this man of multiple talents as painter, writer, poet, theorist, printmaker, photographer, sculptor, jewelry designer, etc.

He became implicated in a scandal involving fake Dalí prints and never recovered from a fire where he was badly burned. The conference will also show his great moments, in the early part of his life.

Meryle Secrets, a former journalist, wrote a biography of Dali in his last years.

Places are very limited and only by special invitation, please contact the Society of Spain if interested.

Thursday, October 8
6:30 cocktails, 7:00 dinner, 8:00 presentation

Cosmos Club
2121 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008-2871

An exclusive guided tour of the Library of Congress, finishing with a detailed tour and talk on the Hispanic Reading Room, which has many works from Spain and Spain-inspired art and decoration.

The reading room, named after the Hispanic Society in New York, was dedicated in 1939 to serve as a focal point to orient and assist researchers who seek to avail themselves of the immense opportunities afforded by Luso-Hispanic materials throughout the Library of Congress. The Hispanic Reading Room, as it is usually called, serves as the primary access point for research relating to those parts of the world encompassing the geographical areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and Iberia; the indigenous cultures of those areas; and peoples throughout the world historically influenced by Luso-Hispanic heritage, including Latinos in the U.S., and peoples of Portuguese or Spanish heritage in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. In addition to a 4,000 volume reference collection, including a collection of CD-ROMs, there is the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape. This is a unique audio collection of authors reading passages from their own literature.

- Free
- RSVP Required - Please respond early as seating is limited.

Library of Congress (Hispanic reading Room)
Jefferson Building Carriage Entrance
First and Independence Avenue SE.
Washington, D.C.
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Oct 13, 2009
01:00pm – 3:00pm
Please arrive 10 minutes ahead of your first appointment to process through security at the Jefferson Building Carriage Entrance (under the Grand Staircase), First and Independence Avenue SE.

The Art of Power. Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain – National Gallery of Art
The Royal Armory in Madrid, assembled at a time when the Spanish Crown was at the height of its international power, is the oldest and one of the finest and largest armories in the world, imbued with great historical, artistic, and symbolic significance. Armor drawn from the unsurpassed holdings of the Spanish Royal Armory is shown in this exhibition alongside portraits of rulers dressed in the same armor, painted by such masters as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Diego Velázquez, and Alonso Sánchez Coello. Several large and magnificent tapestries from the royal collection also depict the armor in use. Together, some 75 works illustrate the use of luxurious armor in projecting an image of royal power in Imperial Spain. The exhibition includes several full suits of armor, helmets, shields, and equestrian armor—worn in battle but more often in Renaissance parades, pageants, and jousting tournaments. The works of art on view date from the reigns of the Holy Roman Emperors Maximilian I of Austria (1508–1519) and Emperor Charles V (1519–1558), to those of his successors, King Philip II (1556–1598), King Philip III (1598–1621), and King Philip IV (1621–1665). This is the first time that the armor has been exhibited together with the portraits in which it is depicted.

The National Gallery of Art (West Building)
401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, D.C.
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Oct 1-31, 2009
10:00am – 5:00pm