Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado

June 11–October 10, 2016

Titian (Italian, c.1488–1576) 
Venus with an Organist and Cupid (detail), c.1550-1555. Oil on canvas, 59 1/8 x 85 7/8 in. © Archivo Fotográfico, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

PURCHASE TICKETS! 
 
The Clark Art Institute is the exclusive venue for Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado, featuring twenty-eight Old Master paintings from the Museo Nacional del Prado that celebrate the role of the nude in Western painting. Twenty-four of the paintings have never before been shown in America. This is a must-see exhibition for visitors to the Berkshires this summer. 
 
Paintings portraying the nude occupied a fundamentally important role in early modern Europe. They feature prominently in the extraordinary collections assembled by Spanish monarchs in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Housed today in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, these collections reflect the cultural sensibilities and sophisticated artistic tastes of the rulers who assembled them—principally Philip II (reigned 1556–98) and his grandson Philip IV (reigned 1621–65).
 
The works presented in Splendor, Myth, and Vision are among the finest of the Prado’s unparalleled holdings, selected not only for their relationship to the exhibition’s themes, but also for their beauty and historical significance. Included in this sensuous exhibition are major paintings by Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacopo Tintoretto, Diego Velázquez, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Guercino, Nicolas Poussin, Luca Giordano, Guido Reni, Jusepe de Ribera, and others.

In honor of the exhibition, join us on Fridays from 4-7 pm in July and August  on Clark Center’s Fernández Terrace for Tapas on the Terrace. The summer tapas bar offers a variety of Spanish-inspired small plates for sale, accompanied by wine and beer.

Click here for directions.



Splendor, Myth, and Vision is co-organized by the Clark Art Institute and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Major underwriting is provided by Denise Littlefield Sobel and Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. Generous contributors include the National Endowment for the Arts and the Malcolm Hewitt Wiener Foundation, with additional support from Jeannene Booher, the Robert Lehman Foundation, Katherine and Frank Martucci, and Richard and Carol Seltzer. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.