The exhibition demonstrates how a national spirit nurtured the development of certain characteristics, such as a stark naturalism, an affinity for still lifes and genre painting, and particular approaches to religious, historical, and mythological subjects. Rather than emphasizing a historical chronology, this exhibition presents works from different periods in order to show their affinities and to challenge traditional readings of Spanish art, which have separated modern works from their historical precedents. Twentieth century Spanish artists continued to cultivate local artistic traditions as features of their national identity and, despite their apparently revolutionary leaps, were nourished by traditional models.

The exhibition presents works by the great Spanish masters side by side, including paintings by El Greco, José de Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Diego Velázquez, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Francisco de Goya, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí, arranged in thematic groupings that bring together works from various centuries. These thematic groupings allow relationships between works to come into focus, inviting visitors to become familiar with distinctive Spanish treatments of subject matter from history, religion, mythology, and everyday life.

Conceived and curated by Carmen Giménez, the Guggenheim Museum's Curator of Twentieth-Century Art, and Francisco Calvo Serraller, Professor Chair of Art History at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History is the most historically comprehensive presentation of Spanish painting ever seen in the United States. The exhibition features approximately 136 paintings dating from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, filling the entire Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda as well as several adjacent galleries. Loans from European and North American museums and private collections, together with a significant number of important works from the Museo Nacional del Prado and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, have made this presentation possible.

The history of Spain is as rich, colorful, and diverse as that of any country in the world, encompassing the diverse histories of the Roman, Moslem, Jewish, Greek, Phoenician, and North African people who have, at one time or another, called the Iberian Peninsula home. With access to both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, present-day Spain (which shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal) has served as a vital trading link and entry point into both North Africa and Southern Europe. The history of Spain has been greatly influenced by this crosscurrent of ethnicities and religions. But the culture and history of Spain have been shaped not only by those who conquered and fought for control of the Iberian Peninsula, but also by the artists who flourished during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries—Spain's so-called Golden Age—as well as by the more recent twentieth-century masters.

Spain, a land of castles and churches, bullfights and flamenco, dusty landscapes and blazing heat, is home to a rich cultural heritage. The culture of Spain stretches back to prehistory, to the people who populated the land twenty-thousand years ago. The paintings of these early people are still visible on the walls and ceilings of the Altamira caves they inhabited in northern Spain. Imperial Roman occupation lasting five hundred years was followed by nearly eight hundred years of Islamic domination, which would impact the country's architecture, art, and language. This influence can still be seen today, particularly in southern Spain, where the Moorish kingdoms flourished. There was constant fighting between the Moors in the south and the Christian kingdoms that dominated the central heartland and north of Spain. The marriage of Ferdinand, king of Aragon, and Isabella, queen of Castile, in 1469 began the process of uniting the disparate kingdoms of Spain into a single nation. The year 1492 would be one of momentous events: in that single year the Moors were conquered and driven out of Spain, the Jews were expelled, and Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, ushering in a period of Spanish imperialism that sowed the seed of New World culture in Latin America.

During the sixteenth century, due to the immense wealth derived from its presence in the Americas, Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe. Not only did this lead to the arrival of ever-increasing quantities of precious metals, spices, and new agricultural species that had a great influence on the development of Europe, but the explorers, soldiers, sailors, traders, and missionaries also brought back with them a flood of knowledge that radically transformed the European understanding of the world. This period of political dominance coincided with a flowering in the fine arts, decorative arts, and literature known as the Siglo de Oro, or Golden Age, which would last well into the next century. Throughout this period, artists produced superb works, many of them for the Church. As the Protestant Reformation threatened the preeminence of the Catholic faith, Spanish monarchs and clergy hastened to its defense. Religious reform in Spain led to a revitalized Church, which commissioned works that would inspire faith and teach doctrine. The powerful Habsburg dynasty that ruled Spain during this period also provided artists with commissions for portraits and triumphant subjects. But a series of long, costly wars and revolts, capped by the defeat of the “Invincible Armada” by the English in 1588, began a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country during the eighteenth century, leading to an occupation by France during the Napoleonic era in the early 1800s.

The nineteenth century saw the revolt and independence of most of Spain's colonies in the Western hemisphere. The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked the end of Spanish possessions in the Americas, with Cuba gaining independence, and control of Puerto Rico and the Philippines being ceded to the United States. This period was also dominated by increasing political polarization within Spain itself. Pressures from all sides, coupled with growing unchecked violence, would eventually lead to civil war.

The Second Republic (1931—36) saw attempts at land reforms, as well as actions supporting worker's rights and access to education for the working classes. In 1936, the newly elected Popular Front government was attacked by the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco. For three years, the Spanish Civil War raged as the Nationalists fought against Republicans. The war left hundreds of thousands dead and caused terrible suffering for all Spaniards. Victory went to the Nationalists and for almost forty years, Franco ruled as one of the twentieth century's most ruthless dictators. A few days after his death, in 1975, the monarchy was restored with Prince Juan Carlos on the throne. Spain then began its transition toward democracy. In 1978, a new constitution was approved by popular vote. Among other things, it guaranteed Spanish citizens equal human, social, and political rights, which Franco had denied them for so long. In 1986, Spain became a member of the European Union and has evolved into a modern, democratic, and liberal society. The Spanish people have a proud cultural heritage as well as a distinct temperament, lifestyle, and vision, born of a long history and economic hardship. Their cave-painting ancestors left their unique mark on the cultural heritage of Spain, and the progression of that lineage is today in the hands of a Europeanized Spanish people who are challenged to preserve their uniqueness. Spaniards today enjoy a rich, diverse culture that dates back thousands of years and bears the influences of both regional diversity and a common heritage.