Picasso didn’t just draw on paper – he tore it, burnt it, and made it three-dimensional. From studies for ‘Guernica’ to a 4.8-metre-wide collage, this major exhibition, open until 13 April 2020 at the Royal Academy, brings together more than 300 works on paper spanning the artist’s 80-year career. Click here for more information.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Instituto Cervantes has organised a programme of talks and concerts paying homage to the famous Spanish artist.
This event will feature an afternoon of presentations and a special exhibition preview in celebration of the opening of Murillo: The Prodigal Son Restored at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Showcasing a unique series of works by one of the most celebrated artists of the Spanish Golden Age, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), this in-focus exhibition explores themes of sin, repentance and forgiveness across six remarkable canvases. Donated to the National Gallery of Ireland by the Beit family in 1987, the six works have not been displayed together publicly for several decades. Murillo: The Prodigal Son Restored will celebrate the recent conservation of the series, which has revived the splendour of Murillo’s colours, brushwork, and mastery of narrative.
| 12pm – 1.15pm | Exhibition preview (Present your ticket for admission) Hugh Lane Room, Beit Wing, Level 3 |
| 1.15pm – 1.25pm | Registration Lecture Theatre, Beit Wing, Level -1 |
| 1.30pm | Welcome Sean Rainbird, Director, National Gallery of Ireland |
| 1.35pm | Introduction Dr Aoife Brady, Curator, National Gallery of Ireland |
| 1.50pm | Murillo: The Prodigal Son Revisited Muirne Lydon, Conservator, National Gallery of Ireland |
| 2.10pm | The Prodigal Son series. “Quatro cuadritos” by Murillo in the Museo del Prado. Elena Cenalmor Bruquetas, Researcher, Museo del Prado |
| 2.30pm | Discoveries and Display: Murillo’s Virgin and Child in Glory Kate O’Donoghue, Curator, National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery |
| 2.55pm | Questions and discussion |
| 3.10pm | Tea / coffee Courtyard |
| 3.50pm | Introduction Prof. Stefano Cracolici, Director, Zurbarán Centre |
| 4pm | “All rooms are furnished with great works of art” – the Beit collection Pauline Swords, Curator, Russborough, Co. Wicklow |
| 4.20pm | A Painter of Street Urchins and Beggars? The perception of Murillo in Britain. Isabelle Kent, Independent scholar |
| 4.40pm | “Something of immortal value”: Murillo at the Meadows Museum Dr Amanda Dotseth, Curator, Meadows Museum, Dallas |
| 5.05pm | Questions and discussion |
| 5.20pm | Close |
Click here for more information and to book tickets (Full price €25, students/OAPs €22.50, Friends €20)
Monday, 4 November 2019, 1–1.45 pm, doors open at 12.30 pm, Sainsbury Wing Theatre
The National Gallery holds one of the finest paintings collections by the Spanish 17th–century artist Francisco de Zurbarán in the world. They have also recently acquired a painting by his son, Juan. Zurbarán lived in Seville, the main European port to the Americas from which he sent over 100 paintings.
Akemi Herráez Vossbrink, The CEEH Curatorial Fellow in Spanish Paintings, discusses the history of collecting Zurbarán, including paintings in their Spanish context, collecting practices in the UK, and the circulation of his work in the Americas.
This event is free and no booking is required. Spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click here for more information.
The National Gallery will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Spain’s foremost artistic institution, the Museo del Prado in Madrid, with a day of special events. Read below or click here to discover what’s on.
Discover Madrid’s Prado Museum: past, present and future. Miguel Falomir, Director of the Prado Museum, Madrid, joins Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, to discuss the history and dynamic future of Spain’s most eminent art museum, which celebrates its bicentenary this year.
Click here for more information.
The Prado Museum in Madrid held a special place in Picasso’s heart and mind. As a young artist he visited the museum many times, drawn to the world of El Greco and Velázquez. Later, in 1936, the Spanish Republic awarded him the title of Honorary Director-in-Exile of the Prado Museum in gratitude for his support. In 1957 he created a series of 58 variations of Velázquez’s ‘Las Meninas’, the iconic work in the Prado. Art historian Gijs van Hensbergen tells the story of Picasso’s life-long relationship with the Prado.
Click here for more information.
Join award-winning film-maker Álvaro Perdices for a screening of his stunning 2015 film ‘Negro y Luz’, an artistic essay on darkness and light exploring the Prado Museum at night.
3 pm Introduction to the film with Álvaro Pedrices
3.10 pm Film showing of Negro y Luz (2015)
5.30 pm Q&A with Álvaro Perdices
5.40 pm Close
Click here for more information.
