The Prada Foundation in Milan is hosting an exhibition celebrating the history of the screen, an object that has undergone significant transformations due to its malleability. New Spain has played a crucial part in this evolution.
A unique screen, once owned by Maximilian of Habsburg, is on display. After his death in 1867, the screen was left forgotten in warehouses until Italian art historian Silvia Pinna began studying and sharing it.
The screen is eclectic, composed of 10 sheets painted on both sides in oil on canvas. One side presents 33 episodes of the Conquest of Mexico, while the other side showcases a lively eastern rural landscape with its inhabitants in their daily activities.
The exhibition also includes five shell panels from various collections, all considered to be part of a single screen. The first screens featuring the theme of the Conquest are from the second half of the 17th century, but the Trieste screen is the only one signed and dated.
It’s believed that screens arrived in Mexico with the first voyages of the Manila Galleon. They were immediately appreciated by the elite, and artisans began creating them with local adaptations and materials.
The screen was an alternative to religious painting and facilitated cultural exchange. New Spain played an active role in the interpretation and enrichment of the oriental screen.
Zabía highlights the lack of academic knowledge about the role New Spain played in the dissemination of the folding screen, noting, “There are no documents that Japan has traded them in America”.
From furniture to work of art
Curator Nicholas Cullinan explains how the domestic use of the screen has transcended into other contexts. In the Baroque era, it was used as a prop in theater and opera.
▲ A detail from The Conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés (1718), a screen signed by Pedro Villegas on one side and painted by an anonymous artist on the other.Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture-Historical Museum and Castle Park from Miramar
Artists like James McNeill Whistler and Paul Cézanne, both influenced by Japonism, considered the screen a new medium for artistic expression. Its format encouraged experimentation and led to innovative solutions in the transition from realism to impressionism.
The exhibition features a screen by British artist William Morris, who advocated for integrating art into everyday life. His hand-embroidered screen, designed in the form of a medieval triptych, creates intimacy and privacy.
Picasso created a screen that became an inspiration for Francis Bacon. This screen, painted with mannequin figures on each leaf of the triptych, was not displayed until after Bacon’s death.
The Irish architect and designer Eileen Gray’s modular screen, Brick screen (1922-1925), is one of the most elegant works in the exhibition, merging the oriental tradition and lacquer with the simplicity of art deco.
Its relationship with theater
Artists drawn to performing arts, like David Hockney and William Kentridge, have been attracted to the screen.
Hockney has included screens in some of his works and has also created them as standalone objects. His work in the theater began with Ubu Roi (King Ubu) and has evolved to include spatial explorations in operas and his photographic collages.
William Kentridge, who also began his artistic journey in the theater, has consistently worked with theater, opera, and cinema. His screen, The Great YES, The Great NO (2023), prompted him to use ink for the first time.
The exhibition also showcases a never-before-seen screen by Cy Twombly, inspired by the peonies on Japanese screens from the Edo period. This screen motivated him to create his renowned series A Scattering of Blossoms and Other Things (2007), where he incorporated texts from five of the greatest haiku masters.
