Release Date: Febrary 19, 2010

National Gallery of Art Plans Array of Activities to Complement The Sacred Made Real Exhibition

Washington, DC —A range of special programs, including films, lectures, Gallery Talks, and concerts, is being offered at the National Gallery of Art to celebrate the landmark exhibition The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600–1700, on view in Washington from February 28 through May 31, 2010. Among some 20 Spanish masterpieces of the 17th century being showcased are arrestingly real sculptures and paintings of the saints, the Immaculate Conception, and the Passion of Christ.

All programs are offered free of charge, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis. Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place in the East Building auditorium.

Films Shown Concurrent with Exhibition

The Sacred Made Real, a 46-minute film about the exhibition produced by the National Gallery, London, will be shown in continuous rotation with Making a Spanish Polychrome Sculpture, the J. Paul Getty Museum's 12-minute film, daily from February 28 to May 31 in the East Building small auditorium (schedules vary). The films will also be shown in the East Building auditorium on select days of the week at 11:30 a.m. More information will be available at www.nga.gov/sacred during the run of the exhibition.

Film Programs

Fifty Years of Experimental Spanish Cinema Film Series
April 3, 10
Presented in conjunction with Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, this series surveys artists' films and the avant-garde in Spain from the mid-1950s through the present day.

Catalunya: Poetry of Place Film Series
April 4, 11, 24; May 1, 8, 15, 16, 23, 30; June 5
Organized in association with Filmoteca de Catalunya in Barcelona, this retrospective of Catalan cinema from the silent era through the present day includes both documentary and narrative, and a broad range of filmmaking styles.

Flamenco at the Source: Rito y Geografia del Cante Flamenco
April 18, 4:30 p.m.
Brook Zern, director, Flamenco Center, New York
Brook Zern, an authority on the history of the guitar who divides his time between New York and Andalusia, presents a program of rare filmic documentation of flamenco musicians and dancers in private performance, not within theatrical venues but in natural and unrehearsed settings.

Lectures

The Sacred Made Real: The Making of an Exhibition
Sunday, February 28, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Xavier Bray, assistant curator of 17th- and 18th-century European paintings, The National Gallery, London
Book signing of The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600–1700 follows

Sculpture Comes to Life: Splendor, Color, and Realism in Baroque Spain and Elsewhere
Sunday, March 7, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Nicholas Penny, director, The National Gallery, London

Demystifying the Mystical: The Making of a 17th-Century Spanish Polychrome Sculpture
Monday, April 26, 12:10 and 1:10 p.m.
East Building Small Auditorium
Daphne Barbour, senior conservator, department of object conservation, and Judy Ozone, senior conservator, department of object conservation, National Gallery of Art

Concerts

)musica( aperta
Sunday, February 28, 6:30 p.m.
West Building, West Garden Court
Music by Bizet, Bonnoncini, Gabrielli, and other composers

Ignacio Prego, harpsichordist
Wednesday, March 24, 12:10 p.m.
West Building Lecture Hall
Music by Spanish composers

Stanford Chamber Chorale,
Stephen M. Sano, director,
with Chatham Baroque
Sunday, March 28, 6:00 p.m.
West Building, West Garden Court
Music by J. S. Bach
Program begins with a lecture by David Gariff: "The Passion in Art and Music"
Concert begins at approximately 6:40 p.m.

Gallery Talks

Regular public tours of The Sacred Made Real are offered by the adult programs department of the education division. For times and topics, please consult the bimonthly calendar of events or the Gallery Talk section of the National Gallery of Art Web site at www.nga.gov/programs/galtalks/.

Exhibition Guide

Illustrated guides in both English and Spanish will be available at the entrance to the exhibition free of charge. They are also available to download online at www.nga.gov/sacred.

Exhibition-Related Music Download

Visitors may enhance their experience of the exhibition by listening to Requiem Aeternam (after Victoria), composed by British pianist Stephen Hough for the exhibition at the National Gallery, London. Hough based his Requiem on Spanish composer Tomás Luís de Victoria's Requiem Mass (1605). To download, visit www.nga.gov/sacred.

Web Feature

An interactive Web feature at www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2010/sacred/slideshow/index.shtm allows visitors to learn about the paintings and sculptures in the exhibition and their importance in Spanish art and history. Stephen Hough's composition Requiem Aeternam (after Victoria) plays during the slideshow.

Shops

In addition to the exhibition catalogue, a wide selection of scholarly books related to the exhibition will be available. The Shops will also feature the exhibition DVD produced by the National Gallery, London, and a music CD produced for the London exhibition.

About the Exhibition

Masterpieces created to shock the senses and stir the soul are spotlighted in The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600–1700, on view at the exhibition's only U.S. venue―the National Gallery of Art―from February 28 through May 31, 2010. This landmark reappraisal of religious art from the Spanish Golden Age includes 11 paintings by Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and others, displayed for the very first time alongside 11 of Spain's remarkable polychromed (painted) sculptures, many of which have never before left Spain and are still passionately venerated across the Iberian Peninsula in monasteries, churches, and processions.

The exhibition has been organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the National Gallery, London.

The exhibition in Washington is made possible by the generous support of Robert H. Smith, The Charles Engelhard Foundation, and an anonymous donor.

The exhibition is presented on the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Spain, the Spain–USA Foundation and the Embassy of Spain in Washington, DC. This exhibition is included in the Preview Spain: Arts & Culture '10 program.

Additional support for the Washington presentation is provided by Buffy and William Cafritz.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.