NGV Announces Winter Exhibition of Italian Masterpieces

In May 2014, the National Gallery of Victoria will showcase over 100 Italian masterpieces on loan from the Museo del Pardo in Madrid. The exhibition, Italian Masterpieces from Spain’s Royal Court, will mark the 11th offering in the NGV's Winter Masterpieces series. A series which began with The Impressionists in 2004, and has more recently included Napoleon: Revolution to Empire, and this year's Monet's Garden.

Tony Ellwood, director of the NGV, says the exhibition "will captivate and amaze visitors, and will be complemented by a diverse range of engaging programs, lectures and events.” It will also be the first time these pieces, including iconic artworks by Raphael, Correggio and Titian, have travelled to our shores, providing audiences with a unique experience unrivalled in the Southern Hemisphere. That's right. You no longer need to be jealous of your friends' Instagram feeds while they're in Europe.

The artworks, which were all once owned by the Spanish Royal Family, offer a large variety of works from the period featuring portraits, landscapes, history paintings measuring over three metres in length, and evocative imagery from both the Old and New Testaments. We know it's a while away. But with such grandeur and passion, these Italian visionaries may be just the thing to cure our (pre-emptive) winter blues.

Italian Masterpieces from Spain’s Royal Court, Museo del Prado will be on display at the National Gallery of Victoria from May 16 until August 31, 2014.

Image credits in order of appearance: Raphael, Holy Family with Saint John or Madonna of the Rose (Sacra Famiglia con San Giovannino o Madonna della Rosa) (c. 1516), Image courtesy Museo del Prado, Madrid. Andrea di Lione, Elephants in a circus (Gli Elefanti in un circo) (c. 1640), Image courtesy Museo del Prado, Madrid