The El Prado museum in Madrid, Spain, is hosting a very special exhibition of European art, which has been given on loan by the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. The Hermitage collection is regarded as one of the finest collections of Western European art in the world and this is an absolutely rare opportunity to see the work outside of Russia. The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs through to March 2012.
El Prado Museum, Madrid
The exhibition will incorporate over 180 works of art, including two large paintings by Rembrandt, an imposing Caravaggio, works by Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne and Wassily Kandinsky and a historic segment of early 20th-century art; an ambit in which the Hermitage’s collection triumphs.
The Absinthe Drinker, Pablo Picasso, featured in the exhibition
Plus Spanish artists Diego Velazquez, Pablo Picasso and Diego de Rivera will also have their work temporarily returned to their Spanish homeland. Four early Picassos will be on show, which describe the Malaga-born artist’s progress from the purely figurative “The Absinthe Drinker” from 1901 and “Boy with a Dog” from his 1905 study of circus life, through to the increasingly cubist Seated Woman (1908) and “Little table at a cafe — Bottle of Pernod” painted in 1912.
Aside from paintings, the exhibition will also present some extremely rare items that once belonged to Russia’s czars and aristocracy. Faberge jewels and gold items will be on show, which date from as early as the fifth century B.C.
The beautiful Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
The Hermitage Museum’s director, Mikhail Piotrovsky, commented, “There has never been such an exhibition, of and about the Hermitage, outside Russia.” In fact the Hermitage is so huge that it is really difficult to present an exhibition that really depicts well what the collection is about. But the El Prado exhibition is a great attempt and has been made up of some examples of extraordinary quality. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has written the foreword in the catalogue, stating that the collection represented, “the pride and glory of civilization’s cultural heritage.
The collection is in great contrast to El Prado’s impressive Flemish collection. The Hermitage collection includes works from such as artists as Jan Brueghel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens and Anton van Dyck.
Madrid has a fine collection of art galleries and museums, which attract thousands of visitors every year, including El Prado, the Thyssen Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum.
El Prado Museum is Spain’s largest and most famous museum, and you should allow at least one day to visit the museum in its entirety; although the museum does offer collection routes, which gets you around what you want to see faster. Visit the official El Prado Museum website for further information.
Madrid is the capital city of Spain and offers a plethora of attractions and activities for all ages, check out our What to do with Kids in Madrid, or visit our Madrid Holiday Guide and Video for more information about the city in general. It’s an easy city to get around especially with the newly improved Madrid Hop On, Hop Off bus system.
Image credits @FlickR: marcp_dmoz / jmussuto / archer10 (dennis)
