Hispanic Society reopens museum after extensive renovations
NEW YORK -- The Hispanic Society reopened part of its museum to the public this week for the first time in six years.
The gem of Washington Heights got a full polishing from top to bottom, and it is celebrating with sparkle, combining the jewelry designs of Luz Camino with the murals of Joaquin Sorolla in the gallery that bears his name.
"Some of her jewels, some of her creations actually take inspiration from Sorolla and from the very painting we see here," said director and CEO Guillaume Kientz.
Kientz joined the Hispanic Society as director in 2021, finishing the pandemic-delayed renovation and digging into the archives to uncover works hidden away for more than a century, shortly after the museum first opened.
"It was about living artists," Kientz said of the original vision, "so we wanted to repeat these experiences, this journey that the museum took back in the day, in the early 20th century."
Among the archived paintings is an original by Diego Velasquez's enslaved apprentice Juan de Pareja that is currently being highlighted in his own exhibit at the Met, and a painting once thought to be Velasquez's famous portrait of him. Kientz led a project that recently revealed Velasquez's son-in-law likely painted the replica.
"It never left Italy," Kientz said about the original Velasquez painting, "and doing some investigation, we found evidence that Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo went to Italy in 1654."
These works now stand alongside a new copy of the Juan de Pareja portrait by Brooklyn artist Jas Knight.
"All that is actually a great dialogue that investigates Juan de Pareja as a painter, as a person, as a symbol, and as an inspiration from Arturo Schomburg to Jas Knight," Kientz said.
On the centennial of the year Sorolla died and modern artist Jesus Rafael Soto was born, their works share a space, inspiring reflection on the impact of Hispanic culture.
"The main purpose of the Hispanic Society is to bridge," said Kientz, "to bridge the past, present and prepare the future, and to bridge the local and the global."
The Hispanic Society Library reopens to the public June 8, with outdoor installations soon to follow. You can visit the museum Thursday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
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