Old Masters

Last week I revisited the National Museum of San Carlos, the city's major collection of European masters.  The small museum is certainly not comparable to the great museums of Europe, but it is worth a visit if only to see the 18th century mansion which houses the collection.

The neo-classical building designed by the architect Manuel Tolsá features an oval courtyard.

I came to the museum to see a special exhibition that is a collaboration between the San Carlos Museum and the Colnaghi Gallery in London, the world's oldest commercial art gallery.  It featured paintings from the Renaissance through the Baroque era.  Although there were no pieces by any of the biggest names...  nothing by DaVinci, Raphael, El Greco, for example... there were a number of artists represented that I have heard of.

The exhibit began with a beautiful altarpiece of late Gothic art from Spain called "The Adoration of the Magi".

Here are a few more of the paintings in the exhibit...

"Judith and Holfernes" by the Italian painter Tintoretto

"Painter in his Studio" by Lorenzo Lotto

"The Alchemist" by Luca Giordano

"Portrait of Frederick of Saxony" by the German painter Lucas Kranach

A large number of the pieces were by artists from Spain.

"The Penitent Magdalene" by Francisco de Zurbaran

"Our Lady of Bethlehem" by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo