OT: THE FOUNTAIN OF GRACE. A Panel from the circle of Jan Van Eyck 23 October 2018 to 27 January 2019

The Fountain of Grace is the only work from the circle of Van Eyck to be owned by the Museo del Prado, and also one of the most intriguing. The specific artist is unknown, as are its precise iconography and origin, and these questions have given rise to a great deal of speculation since it entered the Museum nearly two hundred years ago. Recent restoration and research, the motive for this exhibition, has revealed interesting new data that enable us to progress in our study and knowledge of the piece.

Restoration sponsored by Fundación Iberdrola España.

Begoña and I had yesterday the opportunity to visit this exhibition also. Highly recommended.

Read more here.

OT: BARTOLOMÉ BERMEJO 9 October 2018 to 27 January 2019

The Museo Nacional del Prado and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya –with the collaboration of the Comunidad de Madrid– have co-organised this exhibition, which for the first time gathers together all the documented paintings attributed to Bartolomé de Cárdenas, alias El Bermejo, including some that have only recently been located. Bermejo (c.1440 – c. 1501) was a surprising and very personal artist who produced some of the masterpieces of Hispano-Flemish art, with an exquisite catalogue of paintings preserved at museums and collections in Europe and the Americas. Instead of the partial adaptation of the “Flemish style” practised by most of his contemporaries, his works display a virtuoso and personal recreation of the successful pictorial model inaugurated by Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden.

The show includes emblematic pieces like St Michael, from the National Gallery, London; the Desplá Pietà from Barcelona Cathedral; and St Dominic of Silos from the Prado. These works are fundamental for appreciating Bermejo’s technical and compositional achievements and innovative models.

The Museo del Prado is the first venue for Bartolomé Bermejo, which subsequently travels to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.

Begoña and I had the opportunity to visit this exhibition yesterday. Highly recommended. 

Read more here.