'Portrait of Spain. Masterpieces from the Prado' at the Queensland Art Gallery

That will be the first collection of paintings from the Spanish museum to visit Australia

Queensland, 07/30/12

They are 79 paintings and 22 works on paper that have traveled to Australia. All of them span more than three centuries of Spanish history. It is a project included in the program Prado Internacional, that allows the Spanish gallery to act as an special ambassador to the Australian society. The curator is Javier Portus, Curator in Chief of Spanish Painting until 1700 at the Prado Museum. The exhibition has been sponsored by Acciona.

Portrait of Spain. Masterpieces from the Prado can not be more valuable and attractive, because of the works by El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera, Goya and Sorolla. The itinerary opens with a portrait of Doña Juana de Austria, by Antonio Moro (1560), and closes with La Tapia del Prado (1911), by  Aureliano de Beruete. The exhibition has been divided into three main sections that follow a chronological itinerary. The first section is titled Spanish Golden Age and shows the most representative works of Spanish court portraits -like Isabel Clara Eugenia by Sánchez Coello or Philip IV as a hunter, by Velázquez- and religious paintings, like Immaculate of Aranjuez, by Murillo or The Dead Christ Held by an Angel, by Alonso Cano. We can also see still lifes by Van der Hamen, Luis Meléndez and Juan Arellano.

In the second section, titled 1770-1830. A Changing World, the exhibited works show the transformations in the political, intelelectual or social Spanish world. There is Goya reflecting everyday scenes and intimate affairs, unprecedented for the time before. His portrait of the Marchioness of Villafranca, or Carolina Coronado by Federico de Madrazo are completely different from those aristocratic portraits of the Golden Age. In that section we can also see Goya’s series Les Caprices and The Disasters of the War.

Third stop: 1850 - 1900. The threshold of Modern Spain. The country is evolving and consequently the art as well. The painting becomes richer in scenes and artists. As an example Portús has chosen works by Lorenzo Vallés (The madness of Joanna of Castile), José Moreno Carbonero (Sancho Panza with rucio), and Carlos de Haes (Memories of Torremolinos).

The exhibition will be on view until 4 November. MPR.

  • Main access to the Quennsland Art Gallery, Australia.

  • Francisco de Goya. The Marchioness of Villafranca. Circa 1795. National Museum of the Prado, Madrid.

  • Image of the staging of the exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery.

  • Felipe Ramírez. Still life with thistle, francolin, grapes and lilies. 1628. National Museum of the Prado, Madrid.

Main access to the Quennsland Art Gallery, Australia.