Pondering about Picasso, gazing at works by El Greco and Goya, AP art students break away from the classroom on Friday as they head south to Southern Methodist University to visit the Meadows Museum and see Spanish art firsthand. 

“The AP Drawing students will get to observe up close the brush strokes and brush work, and get a better understanding of composition and color theory, as well as gain an appreciation for the artists that they’ll be learning about,” teacher Pernie Fallon said. “The AP Art History students will be studying the diff periods of art and artists and how some artists were influenced by others and how art during that time period was influenced by culture.” 

Visiting Spanish works hits close to home for AP Art History student, senior Giorgia Mastrolorenzo, whose mom is from Spain. 

“I’m looking forward to the trio because SMU has the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain, and they have one of the favorite artists up, Mariano Fortuny, so I’m very excited to see his work,” Mastrolorenzo said. “The trip enriches the way we learn in Art History because we are getting firsthand conversation and explanation that are on the AP test. Also, the great granddaughter of Sorolla, the artist we are going to see, is actually going to speak to us, so to have a primary source like that is absolutely incredible.” 

AP Drawing student, junior Emma Varela, sees visiting Meadows as an inspirational opportunity for aspiring artists. 

“Honestly I’m just looking forward to going to an art museum because this will be my first time going with a class and I think it’ll be fun seeing all these unique pieces or art with friends,” Varela said. “I think the trip is important because students can learn about the history of art and get inspired to create their own type of art based on the work they see at the museum.”