The Divine Morales

Organized in tandem with the National Museum of the Prado, “The Divine Morales” is a monumental exhibition devoted to the work of Luis de Morales (1510/1511-1586). The show recently opened at a new location in Spain. Where and for how long?
 
On a list of Renaissance masters, one will rarely find Luis de Morales (1510-1586) — known as “El Divino” —among them. The Spanish painter, who worked largely in the Lombard style of Raphael, was known for his penchant for religious subjects and the verisimilitude with which he represented them.
 
“The Divine Morales” — a major exhibition dedicated to the artist — was organized by the National Museum of the Prado and the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and is now on view at the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum in Spain. Via the exhibition webpage, “This latest offering is designed to update what we know today about Morales’s work and his life, by taking a close look at some of his most characteristic paintings and, in particular, the devotional works that focus on the image of Christ. Although his most representative paintings were made popular by the replicas his followers painted, this new show includes a careful selection of works that showcase the true standards of quality in Morales’s extraordinary painting technique.”
 
The exhibition will include some 55 works from the Prado’s permanent collection and other Spanish and international museums, private collectors, and religious institutions. As the museum states, “Most of the works chosen are small and feature the archetypal half-length figures of his professional repertoire: the Madonna with Child, of the kind seen in the popular “Nursing Madonna” from the Prado, Christ with the Crown of Thorns in “Christ, Man of Sorrows” also from the Prado and Christ tied to the column, bearing the Cross or dead in His mother’s arms, as in the “Pietá” from the Museum of the Royal San Fernando Fine Arts Academy in Madrid.”
 
“The Divine Morales” opened on February 9 and will be on view through May 16. To learn more, visit the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.
 
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