“The Clark Art Institute is the exclusive venue for Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado. The exhibition, co-organized by the Clark and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, consists of twenty-eight Old Master paintings of the nude, twenty-four of which have never traveled to the United States. The exhibition examines the collecting of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century paintings of the nude at the Spanish court, explores the histories of these works and their display in the Spanish Royal Collections, and reconsiders the significant role of the nude in European art.
The Prado’s collection of Old Master paintings, widely recognized as one of the most important in the world, is characterized by a significant concentration of mythological, allegorical, historical, and religious paintings depicting nudes. The works presented in Splendor, Myth, and Vision were selected from the Prado’s unparalleled holdings, not only for their relationship to the exhibition’s themes, but also for their individual histories and artistic merit.” — Clark Art Institute
Diego Velázquez (Spanish, 1599–1660), Philip IV, c. 1653–55. Oil on canvas, 27 1/4 x 22 1/4 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Jan Brueghel the Elder (Flemish, 1568–1625), Frans Francken II (Flemish, 1581–1642), Hendrik van Balen (Flemish, c. 1574/75–1632), Jan Brueghel the Younger (Flemish, 1601–1678), and others, Sight and Smell, c. 1618–23. Oil on canvas, 69 1/4 x 103 7/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Venus with an Organist and Cupid, c. 1550–1555. Oil on canvas, 59 1/8 x 85 7/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), Fortuna, 1636–38. Oil on canvas, 71 3/4 x 39 5/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Jacob Jordaens (Flemish, 1593–1678), Marriage of Peleus and Thetis, 1636–38. Oil on canvas, 71 1/4 x 113 3/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian, 1591–1666), Susannah and the Elders, c. 1617. Oil on canvas, 69 1/4 x 81 7/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Guido Reni (Italian, 1575–1642), Saint Sebastian, c. 1617–19. Oil on canvas, 66 7/8 x 52 3/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Jusepe de Ribera (Spanish, c. 1591–1652), Saint Sebastian, 1636. Oil on canvas, 50 x 39 3/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Francisco de Zurbarán (Spanish, 1598–1664), Hercules Defeats King Geryon, 1634–35. Oil on canvas, 53 1/2 x 65 3/4 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Images courtesy The Clark Art Institute