Exhibitions

The Hermitage in the Prado
Prado Museum /8.11.2011 - 25.3.2012 / 12 € / Official Website

Lute Player (1595-96)
Caravaggio (Detail)

A wall-size photo of the Hermitage greets you as you enter this year's blockbuster exhibiton at The Prado. As part of the Dual Spain-Russia Year, after lending a handful of its masterpieces in early 2011, The Prado now receives some 170 works of the Hermitage's collection.
  Portraits of the tsars greet you in a short introduction on the creation of the museum. A black room follows, housing the most unique feature of the exhibit: exquisite gold from ancient Greece and the Scythian tribes of the Black Sea -the epic, sculptural detail of the Solokha Comb is not to be missed.  The next room is the highlight of the show, the Renaissance and Baroque masters, with too many treasures to describe: Titian's powerful Saint Sebastian, El Greco's poignant Saints Peter and Paul and Caravaggio's relaxed Lute player versus Rembrandt's Portrait of a Scholar, who looks rather surprised with his new location, in contrast to Velazque's merry Almuerzo. Continuing in chronological order, works by Rubens and Van Dyck set a courtly mood alongside lavish dresses; and the Enlightenment comes with Canova's eroticly penitent Mary Magdalen. Lastly, luxurious Imperial jewels glimmer next to Eastern weapons. 

   The spacious first floor starts by confronting Friedrich's Romantic landscapes with Monet's Impressionism. Following is the modern art collection ammased by the Muscovites Schukin and Morozov, which heavily features Picasso and Matisse, as well as Russian avant-garde like Kandinsky's large Composition VI  and Malevich's Black Square.

Solokha Comb (430-390 BC)

Conversation (1909-1912). Henri Matise

The best... A unique opportunity to enjoy one of the finest selections of artworks that would be impossible to see together in the State Hermitage proper, creating a cultural timeline, from ancient crafts to suprematism. Also, interesting parallels are drawn throughout the exhibit (and probably without realising it): From the aformentioned ones to Picasso's rose period's Absinthe Drinker and his cubist Seated Woman to the wonderful complexity of the Chinese hairpins opposite the strikingly realistic Bouquet of cornflowers in a vase by Fabergé.

The worst... A chaotic organization that focuses too much on the history of the collection rather than its actual components, even various gemstone jars are dotted around the rooms to give us an idea of the Hermitage's inside apearance. And the flocks of hungry audio guiders crowding around a piece might just spoil your visit.