Sculpting ColourMasterpieces from the Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid

‘Sculpting Colour’, presented at the same time and in the same space as the exhibition on the painter Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), and with collaboratively designed scenography, invites visitors to take a close, comparative look at 17th-century Spanish sculpture.

The majority of the works to be displayed are religious sculptures of stunning naturalism in polychrome wood, allowing visitors to better understand the cultural and religious context in which the great Spanish painters of the same period (such as Zurbarán, Velázquez and Murillo) produced their works – a period in which painting and sculpture were closely linked. The highlight of the exhibition will be an entire loaned paso – a traditional processional float of five life-size sculpted and painted figures from the early 17th century. This monumental ensemble by Gregorio Fernández, a major sculptor then active in Valladolid, will be presented at eye level so visitors can have a close look. The visit will unfold along a number of thematic axes: the veneration of relics and the role of intercessory saints; the dressing of statues; depictions of the sufferings of Christ and of the Virgin Mary; private devotion; and the Immaculate Conception. In so doing, the exhibition will allow visitors to explore the sculptures’ various uses and meanings and to gain a deeper understanding of their materiality, their regional and stylistic variations, and the personalities of the major sculptors of the time. Active from Castile to Andalusia, they include Gregorio Fernández, Alonso Cano, Juan de Mesa, José de Mora, Pedro de Mena, Jerónimo Francisco García and Miguel Jerónimo García, José de Arce, as well as Pedro Roldán and Luisa Roldán – one of the rare female artists with a career so successful it carried her all the way to the royal court of Spain. In addition to the paso entitled Road to Calvary – one of the most significant loans of the exhibition, never before seen in France – works displayed will include Gregorio Fernández’s Christ of Light, a life-size Christ of striking realism, and Saint John the Baptist, Alonso Cano’s most masterful work. The Immaculate Conception by Pedro de Mena, dated 1680 and originating from a competition organised by the Bishop of Granada, and The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist by Luisa Roldán, both recent acquisitions of the National Museum of Sculpture and spectacularly restored, will also be present.

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Exhibition Curators

Valérie Carpentier-Vanhaverbeke, Executive Curator in the Department of Sculptures, Musée du Louvre, and Alejandro Nuevo Gómez, Director of the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid

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Exhibition organised by the Musée du Louvre in partnership with the Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid

‘Sculpting Colour’ will be presented at the same time and in the same space as the exhibition ‘Zurbarán’, and with collaboratively designed scenography, inviting visitors to take a close, comparative look at the arts of 17th-century Spain.

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Mobile app

A free mobile app, accessible on a smartphone or tablet, will be available in the exhibition. To best enjoy the audio content, please bring a set of headphones. 
The app offers content for two exhibitions, presented at the same time and in the same space: ‘Zurbarán’ and ‘Sculpting Colour’.