Those seeking spiritual sustenance may benefit from a pilgrimage to Trafalgar Square, London, UK, to visit The National Gallery‘s dramatic exposition THE SACRED MADE REAL: SPANISH PAINTING AND SCULPTURE 1600-1700. Passionately recommended by Ms. PENNY MARTIN in Ealing, UK, the show is an emotional experience that sheds new light on the role of the Polychromic sculpture in galvanising seventeenth-century Catholic zeal through unprecedented three-dimensional realism. More commonly seen held aloft at pre-Easter processions these days, figures such as this ECCE HOMO by GREGORIO FERNÁNDEZ (1617) had the power, when lit correctly, to convince the contemporary worshipper that they were praying before live flesh. Extraordinary! Quite literally.
(Photo courtesy of Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España)




















COMMENTS
martin:
rather a bit of a surprise to see a recommendation for sacred works, but quite a nice surprise. thank you.