Italian Masterpieces from Spain’s Royal Court

Overview

The National Gallery of Victoria are currently showcasing over 100 Italian works 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 last 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. With such grandeur and passion, these Italian visionaries may be just the thing to cure our impending winter blues.

Image: 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.