MusÃ©e du Louvre unveils landmark 17th-century Spanish polychrome sculpture survey

PARIS.- 'Sculpting Colour', presented at the same time and in the same space as the exhibition 'ZurbarÃ¡n (1598–1664)', and with collaboratively designed scenography by Nathalie CriniÃ¨re, invites visitors to take a close, comparative look at 17th-century Spanish sculpture, presented here for the first time in France.

Through an exceptional, carefully chosen selection of 23 of the finest sculptures, all on loan thanks to an exclusive partnership with Spain's Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid, visitors will discover the striking, singular art of Spanish sculpture in the 1600s.

These religious sculptures of stunning naturalism in polychrome wood will allow visitors to better understand the visual, cultural and religious context in which the great Spanish painters of the same period (such as ZurbarÃ¡n, VelÃ¡zquez and Murillo) produced their works – a period in which painting and sculpture were closely linked. The works are representative of the major centres of artistic production in 17-century Spain, including Andalusia, Madrid, and Valladolid, which was the kingdom's capital city in the early 1600s.

One of ZurbarÃ¡n's major works, The Holy Face, also on loan from the Museo Nacional de Escultura, will serve as a common point of introduction to both exhibitions, placing the visitor face to face with one of the greatest challenges for Spanish painters and sculptors of the 17th century: depicting, with as much precision and naturalism as possible, the incursion of the celestial world into the simple reality of daily life – in this case, the vanishing, miraculous imprint of the face of Christ on the cloth offered him by Saint Veronica.

In the first room of the exhibition, visitors will find 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 FernÃ¡ndez, a major sculptor then active in Valladolid, will be presented at eye level, affording visitors a close look and a feeling of full immersion in the scene.

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 FernÃ¡ndez, Alonso Cano (better known as a painter than a sculptor, and who painted his sculptures himself), Juan de Mesa, JosÃ© de Mora, Pedro de Mena, Jeronimo Francisco GarcÃa and Miguel JerÃ³nimo GarcÃa, JosÃ© de Arce, as well as Pedro RoldÃ¡n and Luisa RoldÃ¡n – 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 FernÃ¡ndez's Christ of Light, a life-size Christ of striking realism, and Saint John the Baptist, Alonso Cano's most masterful work. The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist by Luisa RoldÃ¡n and The Immaculate Conception by Pedro de Mena, dated 1680 and originating from a competition organised by the Bishop of Cordoba, two recent acquisitions of the museum and spectacularly restored, will also be present.

Exhibition Curators: ValÃ©rie Carpentier-Vanhaverbeke, Executive Curator in the Department of Sculptures, MusÃ©e du Louvre and Alejandro Nuevo GÃ³mez, Director of the Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid