Nigel Glendinning Lecture 2026
Dr Xavier Bray will deliver this year’s Nigel Glendinning lecture “Deconstructing Zurbarán” on 6 July 2026 from 6.30 to 8.30 pm (BST) at the National Gallery, London. The lecture is named in honour of the renowned Hispanist Nigel Glendinning (1929-2013).
The event is organised by ARTES with the Instituto Cervantes, London, and the National Gallery, London.
This lecture examines the artistic practice of Francisco de Zurbarán. While he trained in Seville between 1614 and 1617, Zurbarán notably never completed the examinations required to join the city’s official painter’s guild. As his reputation grew among his contemporaries, his lack of formal accreditation created professional tensions.
Zurbarán’s style diverges from academic conventions and is often described as possessing a certain naïve awkwardness. However, it is precisely this quality that underpins the originality and enduring appeal of his work.
The lecture seeks to deconstruct Zurbarán’s artistic approach by analysing the methods and sources that informed his compositions. These include prints, sculpture, live models, and richly rendered textiles. Through these elements, Zurbarán achieved a striking realism that reinforces the spiritual and emotional impact of his paintings.
Dr Xavier Bray is an art historian specialising in Spanish art and Director of the Wallace Collection, London, since 2016. He completed his PhD in 1999 at Trinity College Dublin, on Goya as a painter of religious imagery. He was Chief Curator at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London and the Museum of FIne Arts, Bilbao, as well as Assistant Curator at the National Gallery. He has curated a wide range of exhibitions including ‘El Greco’, ‘Velázquez’, ’The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture 1600-1700’, ‘Murillo and Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship’, ‘Goya: the Portraits’, and ‘Ribera: The Art of Violence’. Since joining the Wallace Collection, he has overseen and co-curated several exhibitions including ‘Richard Wallace: The Collector’, ‘Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads’, ‘Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind’, ‘Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company’, ‘Frans Hals: The Male Portraits’, ‘Faithful and Fearless: Portraits of Dogs’, ‘Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King’, ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ with Sir Grayson Perry and most recently ‘Caravaggio’s Cupid’.
The lecture will be held in the National Gallery’s Piggott Theatre between 6.30 and 8.30 pm. Doors open at 6.15 pm.
Tickets for in-person and online attendance can be obtained here:
PAST EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
London, 22 January 2026
ARTES organised an afternoon visit of the Wyvern Research Institute, a centre for advanced research in the history of art, located in central London. The visit was led by Dr Tom Nickson (Courtauld Institute) and Xanthe Brooke (Vice-Chair of ARTES). The visit offered unique insights into the Wyvern Collection, which houses one of the world’s most important private collections of medieval and Renaissance objects. It also includes Byzantine objects, material from the Silk Road, and African and Oceanic objects.
TRIP TO SPAIN
Madrid, 20-21 February 2026
In February 2026, ARTES organised a group visit to Madrid to see the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to Anders Zorn (Fundación Mapfre), a renowned fin-de-siècle Swedish artist and friend of Sorolla, who travelled extensively in Spain and felt deeply inspired by Spanish culture. The visit was led by the Mapfre curator Casilda Ybarra-Satrústegui. Our group also visited other exhibitions, including Juan Muñoz-Stories of Art (Museo Nacional del Prado) and Maruja Malló. Mask and Compass, the largest retrospective to date of one of Spain’s most innovative avant-garde artists (Reina Sofía Museum), and the Pintura cuzqueña (Museo de América).
FILM SCREENING
Step into the world of art and cinema with art historian Richard Jacques as he presents and screens ‘Patinir, The Invention of Landscape’, The Spanish Gallery, Bishop Auckland, Wednesday, 19 November 2025, 1:30–3:30 pm.
Richard Jacques will introduce both the Flemish painter Joachim Patinir (c. 1480-1524) and Miguel Ángel Trujillo’s intriguing film Patinir, the invention of landscape painting (produced by Angular Producciones with the Museo del Prado and the CEEH), addressing the enigma of a painter whose biography is largely unknown, and who revolutionised the art market and even the very concept of painting at the dawn of the sixteenth century.
Organised in partnership with the Spanish Gallery, this event has been made possible by the generous support of the Instituto Cervantes and CEEH (Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica). The event is free but booking is essential: https://tickets.aucklandproject.org/event-tickets/71435?catID=41342
ATHENA ART FOUNDATION / COLNAGHI FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM, 25TH-26TH SEPTEMBER: IMPRESSIONS OF EMPIRE
Works on Paper as Agents of Intermedial Translation and Cultural Exchange
Once again, the Athena Art Foundation is parterning with the Colnaghi Foundation to present the in-person and online symposium, Impressions of Empire: Works on Paper as Agents of Intermedial Translation and Cultural Exchange.The symposium will be held on 25th and 26th September 2025 and explores how works on paper were used to construct meaning and identity in various imperial contexts, from the 8th to the early 20th centuries. The symposium will be hosted at Colnaghi gallery in London and online on Thursday 25th September, and online only on Friday 26th September. Read the full programme here.
If you wish to join, book your place with eventbrite here
SAVE THE DATE: Wellington Tour, Apsley House Monday 22nd September 6:30pm
ARTES is delighted to have received an invitation from the Duke of Wellington to invite 15 members on a private tour in Apsley House on 22nd September at 6:30pm. Further details are to follow and you will be notified when registration for the tour has begun.
New Event: Rafael Canogar in conversation with Susan Wilson, Thursday 17th July 6:00pm
Please see our latest post for details of this Instituto Cervantes event, with the leading Spanish contemporary artist Rafael Canogar in conversation with Susan Wilson (Senior Member of Faculty at the Royal Drawing School and ARTES Committee Member). Places at the event can be booked here. Attendance is in-person only, as it will not be possible to livestream or record this event.
Juan Facundo Riaño Essay Prize Presentation, 26th June 2025
Save the date! The Presentation will take place at The Embassy of Spain in London and more details will be published shortly.
EMPIRE OF ROLE MODELS?’ SYMPOSIUM, 19-20 JUNE 2025, UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA
ARTES member Maria Vittoria Spissu has organised a symposium with the title ‘Empire of Role Models? Championing and Challenging Global Ideals in the Early Modern Iberian Worlds’. The symposium will take place on the 19th and 20th June at the University of Bologna. Full details of the symposium and the programme can be found here.
ARTES AGM – Monday 9th June 2025
Save the date! Our AGM will be held this year in London on Monday 9th June. It will begin at midday at the National Gallery, and a buffet sandwich lunch will be offered to members. We will then travel together by public transport to the new V&A East Storehouse, where we will view objects from the museum’s collection and the mudéjar Torrijos ceiling from Toledo. Paperwork for the AGM will be sent out to Membership a month in advance.
2025 Glendinning Lecture, Thursday 29th May
The annual ARTES Nigel Glendinning Lecture of 2025: Problems in Velázquez’s Portraiture will be given in person by Dr. Peter Cherry on 29 May from 6.30pm (BST) at the Instituto Cervantes, 15-19 Devereux Ct, London, WC2R 3JJ. The event will also be live streamed. Tickets for attending the event in-person or online can be booked using the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/artes-nigel-glendinning-lecture-problems-in-velazquezs-portraiture-tickets-1335260182149?aff=oddtdtcreator
National Gallery Exhibition Visit, Thursday 10th April – EVENT FUULLY BOOKED!
We are delighted to invite you to visit, free of charge, two London exhibitions celebrating Latin American art and culture on Thursday10 April. We can accommodate a maximum of 15 people per exhibit so places will be confirmed on a first come first served basis. Please register your interest in attending either or both exhibits at your earliest convenience. We also ask that you ensure your ability to commit to attending given that spaces are limited.
9:00am: José María Velasco: A View of Mexico (National Gallery)
We will have early morning access to the first UK exhibition dedicated to José María Velasco, the leading Mexican landscape painter of the 19th century. Daniel Sobrino Ralston, co-curator of the exhibition, will provide a brief introduction.
11:30am: Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism (Royal Academy of Arts)
We will be welcomed by RA staff to the large exhibition on Brazil, which includes 130 works that date from the 1910s to the 1970s.
Meeting points and timings will be confirmed closer to the date with those who have registered their interest in attending. We look forward to sharing these enriching cultural experiences with you.
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