The Fitzwilliam Museum in fundraising drive to acquire a Mater Dolorosa by Pedro de Mena

A sculpture by Pedro de Mena (b. Granada 1628 – d. Malaga 1688) of the Mater Dolorosa or Virgin of Sorrows has gone on display at The Fitzwilliam in Cambridge in a drive to help publicise the Museum’s funding-raising appeal for the acquisition of the work.

Tim Knox Director of the Museum, who has kindly entertained a group of ARTES members at his home, commented to the BBC , “Much of Mena’s work was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and there is not a single autograph piece by Mena in a UK museum. The Mater Dolorosa [Virgin of Sorrows] would be a fantastic addition to our small but significant collection of… wood sculpture.”

This polychrome wood bust of the Virgin is an outstanding and rare example of the sculptor’s work. Very few pieces by de Mena are to be found anywhere except in the churches, monasteries and convents for which they were originally commissioned. This particular work was most probably made for private devotional purposes and would have been part of a pair with an Ecce Homo.

The Fitzwilliam has already raised nearly £60,000 towards the purchase of this work but it still needs to secure a further £25,000 before the end of this coming month (September 2014). If you would like to give something to help, please go to the online donation site Just Giving or contact Sue Rhodes, Development Officer by email at Sue Rhodes or call 01223 332939.

ARTES Malta visit: Wed 5 November – Mon 10 November 2014

ARTES is visiting Malta from 5-10 November 2014. This visit is being organised by Marjorie Trusted of the V&A (ARTES Hon Vice-President) and Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci of the University of Malta (ARTES member). The programme is detailed below and includes a symposium on Spanish Baroque Art in Malta being hosted by the Spanish Embassy.

ARTES Visit to Malta: 5 – 10 November 2014

Programme

Wednesday 5 November
Day: Arrival
Evening: 5.30 pm – Talk by Fr Dun Edgar Vella
The Baroque Neapolitan Crib in Malta
Followed by drinks reception and dinner

Thursday 6 November
Day Spanish Art on Malta Symposium at the Spanish Embassy
See link below for the provisional schedule:
Spanish Art on Malta Symposium – Thurs 6 Nov 2014

Evening Reception at the Spanish Embassy

Friday 7 November
Day Visit to St John’s Co-Cathedral with Professor Keith Sciberras
Followed by tour of Valletta (including the Wignacourt Museum)
Lunch With transport to Mdina
Afternoon Visit to Mdina Cathedral Museum with Fr. Dun Edgar Vella
& to St Paul’s Church, Rabat
Evening Santa Caterina Church, Valletta & Lecture by Peter Vassallo
The Sojourn of Ángel de Saavedra, Duque de Rivas, in Malta (1825-30)
& the Composition of Al faro de Malta and El moro expósito

Saturday 8 November
Day Visit to Gozo to see churches & private collections with Mark Sagona

Sunday 9 November
Day Three cities tour
Lunch at Vittoriosa Quay
Afternoon Visit to National Museum of Fine Arts
& St Paul’s Shipwreck Church

Monday 10 November
Departure

St John's Co-Cathedral Malta — St John’s Co-Cathedral, Malta

Sevilla – Simposio internacional sobre El joven Velázquez 15-17 octubre de 2014

Un simposio internacional sobre El joven Velázquez tendrá lugar en el Instituto de la Cultura y las Artes de Sevilla (ICAS), del 15 al 17 de octubre de 2014, bajo la dirección científica y coordinación de Benito Navarrete Prieto Universidad de Alcalá

contacto: Francesca Ortiz fortiz.cultura@sevilla.org

PROGRAMA

15 de octubre (tarde) 17:00
Presentación del simposio a cargo de Juan Ignacio Zoido, Alcalde de Sevilla, Salvador Medina, Santander Universidades y Jock Reynolds, Director de la Yale Art Gallery University.

Conferencia inaugural Salón Colón del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla 18:00
Xavier Salomon Chief Curator of The Frick Collection NY 18:00
El joven Ribera y el joven Velázquez

Espacio de Santa Clara
Sevilla en tiempos de Velázquez

Carlos Alberto Sánchez Universidad de Sevilla 19:30
De la pluma al pincel. Retóricas gráficas de la época de Velázquez

Alfredo Morales Universidad de Sevilla 20:00
“Un olor de ciudad, un otro no se que”. Arquitecturas de la Sevilla de Velázquez

16 de octubre (mañana)
La cultura y los círculos intelectuales

Vicente Lleó Cañal Universidad de Sevilla 10:00
El joven Velázquez y el círculo de Olivares

Fernando Marías Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 10:30
Materia, objetos y pintura en Velázquez

Luis Méndez Rodríguez Universidad de Sevilla 11:00
La cultura sevillana en la formación de Diego Velázquez

Tanya Tiffany Milwaukee University EEUU 11:30
El Retrato de Madre Jerónima de la Fuente de Velázquez y el Convento de Santa Clara de Sevilla

Descanso 12:00

Jeremy Roe Honorary Research Fellow University of Nottingham 12:30
La recepción de la pintura por el espectador culto: testimonios del “Arte de la Pintura” entre otras fuentes

Peter Cherry Trinity College Dublín 13:00
Velázquez el sevillano y el arte del retrato

16 de octubre (tarde)
La formación del genio. Pacheco y la cárcel dorada del arte

Bonaventura Bassegoda i Hugas Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona 16:30
Velázquez visto por Pacheco: de la perplejidad a la admiración

José Riello Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 17:00
El Greco y Velázquez: afinidades electivas

Enrique Valdivieso Universidad de Sevilla 17:30
Francisco Pacheco, maestro de Velázquez

Ignacio Cano Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla 18:00
El retrato como fundamento en Pacheco y Velázquez

Antonio Martínez Ripoll Universidad de Alcalá 18:30
Educación y aprendizaje. Diego Velázquez, pintor autodidacta

Descanso 19:00

José Roda Peña Universidad de Sevilla 19:30
La iconografía de Santa Ana enseñando a leer a la Virgen y sus modelos escultóricos en Sevilla

Odile Delenda Wildenstein Institute París 20:00
La educación de la Virgen: problemas de iconografía

17 de octubre (mañana)

Las formas y las obras: más allá de la pintura

José Manuel Cruz Valdovinos Universidad Complutense de Madrid 10:00
Constantes y variantes en la pintura sevillana de Velázquez

Salvador Salort Pons Detroit Institute of Art (EEUU) 10:30
Velázquez y el Bodegón

Guillaume Kientz Museo del Louvre 11:00
Velázquez y el caravaggismo

Xavier Bray Dulwich Picture Gallery. London 11:30
Velázquez y la escultura policromada

Descanso 12:00

Véronique Gérard Powell Universidad de la Sorbona 12:30
¿Por qué perdimos de Sevilla las pinturas del joven Velázquez?

17 de octubre (tarde)

La técnica pictórica

Carmen Garrido Museo del Prado 17:00
Estudio técnico de la Inmaculada de la Fundación Focus-Abengoa

Jaime García Mahiquez Museo del Prado 17:30
Los calcos de Velázquez

Valme Muñoz Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla 18:00
Estudio técnico de la “Santa Ana enseñando a leer a la Virgen” de Juan de Roelas: confluencias y disonancias con Velázquez

Mesa Redonda de Clausura: La Educación de la Virgen de Yale restaurada 18:30

John Marciari Independent Curator. Baltimore (EEUU)

Ian McClure Yale Art Gallery. Yale University (EEUU) 19:45

Carmen Albendea Yale Art Gallery. Yale University (EEUU)

Lawrence Kanter Yale Art Gallery. Yale University (EEUU)

Javier Portús Museo del Prado

Artes Coll & Cortés Scholarships Awards Ceremony, London, 30 September 2014

2014-09-SpanishEmbassyLondon ARTES Coll & Cortés Scholarships Awards Ceremony, Embassy of Spain, 39 Chesham Place, London SW1X 8SB, Tuesday, 30 September, 6:00-7:30PM. (ARTES members and members’ named guests only.) Thanks to the generous support of art dealers Coll & Cortés, ARTES awards a number of scholarships each year to students working on any aspect of Spanish, Portuguese or Latin American visual culture before 1800. Please join us as we celebrate the achievements of our first scholars at this special ceremony and drinks reception. RSVP Morlin Ellis: <artesiberia@gmail.com>. Please note: Photographic ID will be needed for entry.

10th London Spanish Film Festival 25 September – 5 October 2014

This is the 10th year of the London Spanish Film Festival and for 10 days there will be a wealth of film screenings, talks, tertulias, book presentations and Q&As with filmmakers and actors.

This year includes some delightful comedies, such as the opening film, Tres bodas de más, and Sánchez Arévalo’s latest comedy-drama, La gran familia española. Some films will offer glimpses into every-day life in Spain, such as Historias de Lavapiés or Os fenomenos. Others will examine the current situation in Spanish cinema, as well as its future (the Love Letter to Cinema section).

The relationship between food and film is something that has often been explored in cinema over the last few years – both in Spain and beyond. This there will be some more “culinary cinema” on offer, with The Food Guide to Love and El somni.

The Sixth Catalan Window will once more offer a glimpse into what has been produced in Catalonia – and the wealth of talent and craft there – with a small but strong selection of films such as producer Lluis Miñarro‘s first feature film, Stella Cadente, or Pau Teixidor‘s tense thriller Purgatorio.

The Strength of Basque cinema will be celebrated in the Fifth Basque Window, offering – among other long and short films – Las brujas de Zugarramurdi, another demonstration of Álex de la Iglesia‘s distinctive and fascinating style. There will also be a special session with the screening of three short films showing two American filmmakers’ vision of the Basque Country: Orson Welles and Cyrus Sutton.

Sophisticated but controversial, Vicente Aranda is one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers, and his films – exploring such themes as jealousy, sexual desire or complex social issues – have become cinematic classics. Taking the Prada brothers’ documentary, Vicente Aranda: 50 años de cine, as a starting point, there is a special feature dedicated to him in which some of the most important films of his career are explored. In addition to this there will be an exclusive stage interview with him.

Last but not least, there is once again a treasure from the archives, which this year will be La vida en un hilo, a delightful screwball comedy by Hollywood devotee Edgar Neville, with Conchita Montes, one of Spain’s most popular actresses in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Film screenings and events will take place at the Ciné Lumière at the Insitut Français in South Kensington and the Instituto Cervantes just off Eaton Square.

The London Spanish Film Festival is organised by Joana Granero of Tristana Media in collaboration with the Institut Français, the Cultural Office of the Spanish Embassy and the Instituto Cervantes.

For the full programme go to: www.londonspanishfilmfestival.com

For further information, please, contact:

at the London Spanish Film Festival:
Noemi Cuetos Fernández noemi@tristanamedia.com
Giulio Olesen 07472326740 office@londonspanishfilmfestival.com

at Ciné Lumière:
Natacha Antolini natacha.antolini@institutfrancais.org.uk
Justine Goy 020 7871 3521 justine.goy@institutfrancais.org.uk

Tuesday 16 September 2014 – Concert in London: Music and art in Toledo at the time of El Greco

A celebration of the music and art of Toledo in the 16th century will held at the Church of St James – London’s ‘Spanish Church’ – in the West End on Tuesday 16th September. The event is the being organised by the BritishSpanish Society.

At the time of El Greco, Toledo was a major centre for sacred music and for centuries Spanish sacred music was known as Canto toledano. It still houses one of the richest libraries of sacred music in Spain as well as an outstanding collection of Flemish Renaissance music.

Music will be performed by the Coro Cervantes, the UK’s only chamber choir dedicated to Hispanic and Latin American classical music. Exploring these connections between music and art will be the choir’s musical director Carlos Fernández Aransay and Chief Curator of the Dulwich Picture Gallery and longtime supporter of ARTES, Xavier Bray.

Xavier has curated or co-curated all the major exhibitions of Spanish Golden Age art in London over the past 10 years: El Greco (National Gallery, 2004), Velázquez (National Gallery, 2006) and Murillo (Dulwich Picture Gallery, 2013); and is currently working on an exhibition of Goya’s portraits for the National Gallery in October 2015. In 2009 he conceived and curated the groundbreaking exhibition The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture 1600-1700 (2009), which was instrumental in bringing audiences in the UK and beyond to a greater understanding and appreciation of sacred Spanish art. The legacy of this exhibition continues. This summer Sotheby’s London held its first selling exhibition devoted exclusively to sacred paintings and sculpture; seventeen of the twenty-six works were Spanish. This exhibition, Contemplation of the Divine was masterminded by Alexander Kader, Senior Director & Head of Sculpture & Works of Art and ARTES member James Macdonald, Senior Director & Head of Private Sales, Old Master Paintings, both of whom were kind enough to take ARTES members on a private tour.

For more information see: ARTES post 24 Aug 2014, Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge on Fundraising Drive to purchase a Pedro de Mena Mater Dolorosa. Particularly for the historic reception of Spanish art in the UK: Spanish Art in Britain and Ireland, 1750-1920. Studies in Reception in Memory of Enriqueta Harris Frankfort, edited by Nigel Glendinning & Hilary Macartney, Tamesis, 2011.

Tickets: £22 for non-members of the British Spanish Society, available from their Events Secretary or the Society’s website, www.britishspanishsociety.org. Membership of the Society is open to all (£25) and an application form can be found on the website. Tickets for members are £17.

Date Tuesday 16 September 2014 at 6.30pm, followed by a reception

Venue The Church of St James, Spanish Place, 22 George St, London W1U 3QY (near to the Wallace Collection). NB: Bond Street tube is not fully operational. Please check before using.

Call for Applicants – Research Grants (Casa de Velázquez, Madrid: 2015)

The Casa de Velázquez in Madrid is taking applications for “Resident Researchers” for 2015. Resident Researchers may be affiliated with French or non-French universities and research institutes, and can propose a stay of between one and ten months. Resident Researchers will receive accommodation, a monthly stipend and a partial reimbursement for travel costs.
The deadline for applications is September 30, 2014.
For more information, see <https://www.casadevelazquez.org/index.php?id=5&L=1&tx_cvzfe_news%5Bnews_uid%5D=1590>

Ex ungue leonem. Marble heads by the Master of Cabestany, Barcelona, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 4 April – 28 September 2014.
The four marble heads displayed in Room 4 of the Museum are fragments from the doorway of Sant Pere de Rodes, carved in the second third of the twelfth century, a masterpiece attributed to the Romanesque sculptor the ‘Master of Cabestany’. His work has been found in several places in southern Europe, from Tuscany (Italy) to Navarre, although most of the examples conserved are to be found in northern Catalonia and Languedoc. The doorway they once belonged to was destroyed sometime between 1800 and 1825. The four heads are on loan from private collections, and from the museums of Girona and the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge.

Josef Albers/Joan Miró, Palma de Mallorca

Josef Albers/Joan Miró The Thrill of Seeing, Fundacion Joan y Pilar Miró, Palma de Mallorca, 23 MAY – 21 SEPTEMBER 2014.
Exhibition contrasting the abstract art of two twentieth-century artists, who though they never met, the co-curators (Directors of the artists’ respective foundations) believe shared an inclusive vision. The show integrates Miró’s paintings, drawings, and sculpture, all from the collection of the Fundacion Joan y Pilar Miró, with Albers’s paintings, prints, and glass work, all from the Albers Foundation in Connecticut, so as to reveal “astounding visual and spiritual similarities”. [Reviewed in the news section of Guardian 12/07/14 p.21]
A two-page tri-lingual colour-illustrated leaflet about the exhibition can be downloaded from the exhibition web page (English text: http://miro.palmademallorca.es/documentos/D_428.pdf)

Documentary Photography in 1970s Spain, Madrid

Tan lejos, tan cerca: Documentalismo fotográfico en los años 70
(Madrid: Real Jardín Botánico – CSIC, 4 Jue – 27 July 2014). Images by leading documentary photographers of 1970s Spain. Works by Anna Turbau, Cristina García Rodero, Cristóbal Hara, Fernando Herráez, Koldo Chamorro, Ramón Zabalza show rural and small-town societies, their festivals and their traditions, including those of marginalised cultures.