The BBVA Foundation and the Museo Nacional Del Prado Present an Exhibition Devoted to Luis

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The BBVA Foundation and the Museo Nacional del Prado present an exhibition devoted to Luis de Morales, one of the great masters of the Spanish Renaissance

 “The Divine Morales”, sponsored by the BBVA Foundation and opening tomorrow Thursday, October 1, will be the public’s opportunity to view the best known and most representative works by this Spanish artist, famed as an exquisite painter of altarpieces and devotional panels

 Nineteen works from the Prado collection, among them the Christ on the Cross and Resurrection gifted by Plácido Arango, are joined by 35 from other national and international museums, private collectors and religious institutions, including The Virgin and Child with the Little Bird, from San Agustín parish church in Madrid, The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John from Salamanca’s New Cathedral and an Ecce Homo from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon, recently restored in the Prado workshops

 The exhibition has been co-organized by the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Museo Nacional del Prado

Madrid, September 30 , 2015.-The Museo Nacional del Prado and the BBVA Foundation present “The Divine Morales”, an exhibition that will have its official opening this evening, attended by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, and the presidents of the Prado Board of Trustees, José Pedro Pérez Llorca, and of the BBVA Foundation, Francisco González. The show is an exploration of the life and works of Luis de Morales, the Divine Morales, almost a century after the Prado hosted the artist’s first ever monographic exhibition.

Although Morales’ most important and characteristic works were widely known due to the existence of his studio and through the versions produced by other painters and followers, this exhibition is confined to the pieces that best illustrate the artist’s extraordinary and exquisite painting technique, among them a sculpture by Alonso Berruguete, on loan from the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid, which stands in close relation to Morales’ Passion themes in the spirituality it conveys and in the sculptural qualities found in the Extremadura-born master’s painting.

The works on show, mostly small-format paintings and half-length figures, reflect the images that turn up repeatedly in Morales’ oeuvre: the Virgin and Child, such as the popular Nursing Virgin in the Prado Museum; Christ crowned with thorns, like the Man of Sorrows of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; and Christ at the column, carrying the cross or dead in his mother’s arms, such as the Pietà from the Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. A small repertoire of images from which the painter generally omits any temporal or spatial element so as to induce in the spectator a state conducive to religious contemplation.

“The Divine Morales” marks the culmination of an exhaustive study whose conclusions can be read in the catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition.

After its time at the Prado, the exhibition will travel to the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao (February 9 – May 16, 2016) and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (June 16 – September 25, 2016). The same exhibition layout will be used for all three venues with only small differences in the selection of works on show.

Catalogue

The catalogue includes extensive commentaries on the selected works, not all of them on show at all three exhibition venues, with contributions from nineteen art historians who offer their personal vision of the paintings and their author in a thematic sequence running from the birth of the Virgin to Christ’s Passion and death.

It also includes a text by the exhibition’s curator Leticia Ruiz, reconstructing Morales’ life and artistic career, an essay by Professor Felipe Pereda focusing on the iconography and spirituality of some of his best known works, and a section on the technique and materials he employed.

To download information and images https://www.museodelprado.es/sala-de-prensa/acceso-profesionales/

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Parallel activities

The Prado has organized a program of activities around the exhibition to serve as guidance for the visiting public. In addition to the usual lecture series, the museum has scheduled educational itineraries around the exhibition space, a specialized course and, also, an extraordinary concert, La voz de los poetas, in the charge of Amancio Prada.

2 The full activities program is available at www.museodelprado.es

“The Divine Morales”

Luis de Morales was born in 1510 or 1511 and probably died in 1586, possibly in Alcántara (Cáceres) where he was reported to be living in 1585. His place of birth is unknown, but he lived and worked in Extremadura. For more than fifty years, he was the most prolific and important painter in this large southeastern region of Spain, where he created numerous altarpieces and religious paintings. He also produced for the Portuguese market, especially in Évora and Elvas, across the border from Badajoz. It was in this last town that Morales settled in 1539, after working in and around the city of Plasencia, where the presence of artists and influences from Flanders and Castile would prove formative in his painting. Familiarity with the works of other artists, notably Alonso Berruguete and Sebastiano del Piombo, helped define the style of a painter who won early fame thanks to his small panels dealing with religious subjects. The commercially astute Morales created a painstakingly executed artistic and devotional product adapted to the contemporary clientele, which drew on the Flemish traditions of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, as well as Italianate elements and models. He subtly conveyed the spiritual atmosphere of the time in these religious pieces. Simply composed and familiar to believers, their visual effectiveness went hand in hand with an undeniable emotional force.

This exhibition carefully surveys the work of the “Divine” Morales, an epithet explained thus by the 18th century painter and essayist Antonio Palomino: “He was called "the Divine’ because he only painted sacred things, and because he made heads of Christ with such skill and such subtlety in the hair that those interested in art would want to blow on it so it moved, because it seemed as delicate as real hair.”

Exhibition sections

Lasting Icons

This section introduces visitors to the painter’s best known iconographic creations – fairly small works with bust- or half-length figures silhouetted against black backgrounds by contrasting lighting to bring them closer to the spectator. Designed for oratories and private chapels, these compositions attest to Luis de Morales’s complex artistic affiliations – his connection with Italian painting and with certain Flemish and Northern European artists.

Del dulce pintar. Around the Virgin and Child

Morales reworked a few well established iconographies of European Christian art. Characterized, like his entire output, by a religiosity centered on the Passion aspects of Christ’s childhood, they were extremely successful with the clientele of the period. His small panel paintings of devotional images featuring the “Virgin and Child” enjoyed widespread popularity. His main creations revolved around the Gypsy Virgin (also known as the pilgrim Virgin or the Virgin with the hat), in which Mary wears a striking wide- brimmed hat, and the so-called Virgin with the spindle, a type of depiction in which the Child holds this instrument for winding yarn in imitation of the cross. A careful selection of

3 variations on these two themes attests to Morales’s ability to achieve works that are delicately constructed but with an effective emotional charge.

By way of contrast, this section also features three masterworks from Morales’ large- format output.

Painting for very close up. Images of the Passion and Redemption

The Passion of Christ became a key motif for reflection and emulation in the society of the period. Morales’ panel paintings of the suffering Christ, executed in small format with intense backgrounds against which the images of Christ enduring the redeeming Passion (preferably bust- or half-length figures) are silhouetted with sculptural force, resonated strongly with mid-sixteenth-century society, as proven by the many known versions of the master’s originals.

This group of works is centered around the full-length Ecce Homo in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon and a sculpture by Alonso de Berruguete in the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid, as an iconographic reference that also suggests Luis de Morales’ undeniable aesthetic relationship with sculpture.

Complex stories: altarpieces

Like most sixteenth-century Spanish painters, Luis de Morales produced a large number of altarpieces for which he was assisted in particular by his workshop. Archival documents show that Morales produced many ensembles of this kind, so characteristic of the art of the period; however, the 17th-century wars with Portugal, the Peninsular War and the Civil War led to the disappearance of most of their number. Works of significant quality have been recovered for the exhibition to help illustrate this aspect of Morales’ output and compete the survey of his complex career.

In keeping with the theme, this section also features the only two drawings attributed to the artist: Lamentation over the Dead Christ and Noli me tangere, both from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon.

Saint Juan de Ribera and Counter-Reformation spirituality

Of the prelates assigned to Badajoz, the most prominent was undoubtedly Saint Juan de Ribera. His family background and intellectual grounding and the spiritual environment of his tenure in Extremadura (1562–69) make Ribera an essential reference in the life and paintings of Luis de Morales, who came to be considered court painter to the prelate.

The fundamental work in this last section is the altarpiece with the Judgement of the Soul of Saint Juan de Ribera, from the Real Colegio Seminario de Corpus Christi in Valencia – Museo del Patriarca.

List of exhibits

1. LASTING ICONS

1. The Holy Family

4 Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 91 x 67 cm c. 1554-60 New York, The Hispanic Society of America

2. Nursing Virgin Luis de Morales Oil on chestnut panel, 84 x 64 cm c. 1565 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

3. The Virgin Dolorosa Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 73 x 50.5 cm 1560-70 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

4. Ecce Homo Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 73 x 50.5 cm 1560-70 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

5. Christ Carrying the Cross Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 82 x 64 cm c. 1565 Osuna (Sevilla), Colegiata de Osuna

6. Pietà Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 90 x 66 cm c. 1563 Polán (Toledo), Parroquia de San Pedro y San Pablo

7. Pietà Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 72 x 50 cm c. 1568 Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao

2. AROUND THE VIRGIN AND CHILD

8. The Birth of the Virgin Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 69.2 x 93.2 cm c. 1562-67 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

9. The Visitation Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 67.5 x 49.7 cm c. 1562-67 Eichenzell, Kulturstiftung des Hauses Hessen, Museum Schloss Fasanerie

10. The Presentation in the Temple

5 Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 66 x 49.5 cm c. 1562-67 Eichenzell, Kulturstiftung des Hauses Hessen, Museum Schloss Fasanerie

11. Nursing Virgin Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 38 x 28 cm c. 1560-65 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

12. The Virgin and Child with the Little Bird Luis de Morales Oil on panel transferred to canvas, 210 x 178 cm 1546 Parroquia San Agustín de Madrid

13. The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 167 x 122 cm c. 1545-55 Salamanca, S.I.B. Catedral de Salamanca

14. The Virgin and Child or The Virgin in Gipsy Dress Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 70.5 x 50 cm c. 1567-70 Colección Arango

15. The Virgin with the Child Writing Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 54.7 x 38.8 cm Mexico City, Museo Nacional de San Carlos, INBA-CONACULTA

16. The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 70 x 57 cm c. 1570 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

17. Virgin of the Hat or Virgin in Gipsy Dress with the Christ Child Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 57 x 41 cm c. 1567 Madrid, Fondo Cultural Villar Mir

18. Virgin in Gipsy Dress and Christ Child with Yarnwinder Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 39 x 28.5 cm 1567-68 Private collection

3. PAINTING FOR VERY CLOSE UP. IMAGES OF THE PASSION AND REDEMPTION

19. The Virgin and Child with a Spindle Luis de Morales

6 Oil on chestnut panel, 64.5 x 45 cm 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

20. Christ, Man of Sorrows Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 60.5 x 44 cm 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

21. Christ, Man of Sorrows Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 64 x 44 cm c. 1560 Minneapolis, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund

22. The Agony in the Garden Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 85 x 65.5 cm c. 1545 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

23. The Repentant St Peter before Christ at the Column Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 73 x 55 cm c. 1567 Madrid, Catedral de la Almudena

24. Ecce Homo Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 182 x 94 cm c. 1565 Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

25. Ecce Homo Alonso Berruguete Polychrome wood, Figure: 146 x 49 x 37 cm. Base: 14 x 58 x 48 cm c. 1525 Valladolid, Museo Nacional de Escultura

26. Christ Presented to the People Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 54 x 96 cm c. 1570 Madrid, Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

27. Ecce Homo Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 32.5 x 25 cm c. 1560-70 Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister

28. Ecce Homo Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 23.5 x 15.3 cm c. 1565 Colección Arango

7 29. St Jerome in Penitence Luis de Morales Oil on chestnut panel, 70.7 x 50.5 cm 1555-65 Private collection, Herederos de Don Alonso Álvarez de Toledo y Mencos, Marqués de Miraflores

30. St Stephen Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 69 x 50 cm c. 1555-60 Oviedo, Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias

31. St Stephen Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 67 x 50 cm c. 1575 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

32. St Francis of Assisi Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 76 x 33 cm c. 1570 Colección Masaveu

33. St Peter of Verona Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 78 x 35 cm c. 1570 Colección Masaveu

34. Pietà Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 126 x 98 cm c. 1560 Madrid, Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando

4. COMPLEX STORIES: THE ALTARPIECES

35. Pietà Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 114.4 x 84.8 cm 1553-54 Badajoz, Museo Catedralicio

36. The Stigmatisation of St Francis Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 112.8 x 81.9 cm 1553-54 Badajoz, Museo Catedralicio

37. The Annunciation Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 110.4 x 81.6 cm c. 1565 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

8 38. The Adoration of the Shepherds Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 100 x 167.1 cm c. 1565-70 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

39. The Adoration of the Magi Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 98.9 x 166.6 cm c. 1565-70 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, P07622

40. The Purification of the Virgin or The Presentation in the Temple Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 146.5 x 116 cm c. 1562 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

41. The Last Supper Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 120 x 93.5 cm c. 1560-70 Catania, Museo Civico di Castello Ursino

42. Lamentation over the Dead Christ Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 167.5 x 125 cm c. 1566 Salamanca, Museo de Salamanca. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte

43. The Crucifixion Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 166.5 x 138 cm c. 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. Donación Plácido Arango Arias

44. The Resurrection Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 167.5 x 124.5 cm c. 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. Donated by Plácido Arango Arias

45. Lamentation for the Death of Christ Luis de Morales Pen, brown ink and light brown ink wash on laid paper prepared with reddish sanguine wash, 149 x 173 mm Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

46. Noli me tangere Luis de Morales Pen and wash, brown ink, with touches of partially oxidized white lead on laid paper prepared with reddish sanguine wash (adhered to a second support), 187 x 230 mm Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

5. SAINT JUAN DE RIBERA AND COUNTER-REFORMATION SPIRITUALITY

9 47. Triptych of Bishop Juan de Ribera Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 80 x 104 cm (open) c. 1566 Cádiz, Museo de Cádiz

48. St Juan de Ribera Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 52.3 x 40 cm c. 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

49. St John the Baptist Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 52.4 x 39.8 cm c. 1566 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

50. Christ Carrying the Cross Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 81 x 62 cm c. 1567 Valencia, Real Colegio Seminario de Corpus Christi – Museo del Patriarca

51. Crucifixion with Donor Luis de Morales Oil on panel, 235.5 x 156.5 cm c. 1565-75 Valencia, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos. Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia

52. Triptych with the Judgement of the Soul of Juan de Ribera Luis de Morales Oil on oak panel, 131 x 49 cm c. 1568 Valencia, Real Colegio Seminario de Corpus Christi – Museo del Patriarca

53. Christ Justifying his Passion Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 71 x 49 cm c. 1565 Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

54. The Virgin in Gipsy Dress Luis de Morales Oil on walnut panel, 33.5 x 24.5 cm 1567-68 Madrid, Colección LL-A

For more information, contact the BBVA Foundation Department of Communication and Institutional Relations (+34 91 374 5210; 91 374 8173; 91 537 3769/[email protected]) or visit www.fbbva.es