SANTIAGO, SPAIN.- The Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation presents today the exhibition “Great Masters From Lázaro Galdiano Museum,” on view through January 7, 2004. This exhibition, organized by the Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation, includes works by the great masters of Spanish and European painting and consists of a selection from the famous art collection in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, currently closed for building work. The exhibition on display consists of 53 works from the XV to the XIX Century, with the emphasis on Spanish painting, and especially on Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. The celebrated painter is represented here by four paintings, amongst them his masterpieces "El aquelarre" and the sketch for "La era", as well as another sketch for a painting of Zaragoza which has since been lost to us, and the controversial "Magdalena", a painting which was traditionally attributed to him and whose authorship would appear to have been recently confirmed. This selection of first class paintings begins with a variety of works by the Spanish primitives Juan de Sevilla, Maestro de Astorga, Maestro del Parral and Maestro de Manzanillo and continues with a representative selection from the large collection of Flemish-Gothic painting, amongst them the famous "San Juan" (Saint John the Baptist) by Hieronymous Bosch, and several Dutch and English paintings. Also on show is the mysterious face of an adolescent, from Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop, the only one of its kind in Spain.

The exhibition was curated by Letizia Arbeteta Mira, Director of the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation. The Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation has been able to organise this exhibition thanks to an agreement of collaboration signed with the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation, Madrid. The paintings on show are a representative sample of masterpieces by Spanish and European artists held in the extensive collection of the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, which depends on the foundation of the same name. The museum is at present closed to allow building work to take place, and is due to open again once this exhibition is over. There are 53 works in the exhibition, dating from the 15th to the 19th Centuries, the majority of which are by Spanish painters, in particular Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, who is represented by 4 of his works.

The exhibition continues the series of temporary exhibitions organised by the Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation and dedicated to paintings of historical interest, whether by universally renowned artists (for example The Apostolates of El Greco, on show during the same period last year) or Galician artists (for example Gregorio Ferro, a retrospective exhibition of whose works was shown in the Foundation’s exhibition space as well as in those of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid).

The exhibition offers visitors a selection of first class works that commences with an overview of Spanish primitives such as Juan de Sevilla, Maestro de Astorga, Maestro del Parral and Maestro de Manzanillo, amongst others. There is also a mysterious portrait of an adolescent from the studio of Leonardo da Vinci, the only work of its kind in Spain. The great collection of Gothic and Flemish paintings is represented by works from the brush of painters such as Gerard David and Adriaen Isenbrandt, as well as the famous "St John the Baptist" by Hieronymus Bosch, an allegory by the Reformation painter Lucas Cranach, or royal portraits by Van Orley and Anthonis Mor Van Dashorst, together with the impressive canvas representing the "The Baptism of Christ" attributed to Orazio Samachini.

Teniers, Brueguel, and other artists from the Netherlands are complemented by a careful selection of Dutch painting amongst which must be noted the colourful still life with flowers by Roepel. English painting, so infrequently to be seen here in Spain, is represented by a selection of works by painters such as Lely, Reynolds and Constable.

Spanish painting is represented, as well as by the above-mentioned primitives, by a selection of masterpieces: works by El Greco and Sánchez Coello, the study "Head of a girl", attributed to Velázquez, Murillo, or the spectacular portrait of a lady in a farthingale attributed to Carreño de Miranda, which a recent X-ray has revealed to be contemporary with "Las Meninas". Works of outstanding importance from the 18th and 19th centuries include the portrait of Mª Gabriela de Saboya by Miguel Jacinto Meléndez or the captivating "La Tienda" by Paret, a supreme example of Spanish rococo painting. Mengs, Camarón, Esteve, Maella and Bayeu are some of the other artists whose works are on display, as are González Velázquez, Vicente López, the brothers Luis and Fernando Madrazo, Lameyer y the Lucases, father and son, the largest collection of whose works is owned by the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation. Francisco de Goya y Lucientes is represented by four works, namely his masterpieces "El Aquelarre" and the sketch for "La era", as well as another sketch for a painting that formed part of a missing set originally destined for the church of San Fernando de Torreros, and the "Magdalena", which has recently recovered its traditional attribution to Goya.

The origins of the Lázaro Galdiano collection - José Lázaro Galdiano, who was born in Navarre in 1862, died in Madrid in 1947 and bequeathed all his possessions to the State. The Foundation which bears his name was established forthwith in what was his town house in the elegant Salamanca district of Madrid. The collection consists of almost 13,000 items, and as well as paintings includes major works of sculpture, collections of the decorative arts (bronzes, fabrics, jewellery, silverwork, fans, fine crystal and glass, etc.) and one of the largest private libraries in Spain.

José Lázaro and his wife Paula Florido enjoyed sufficient wealth to enable them to acquire items from the most prominent European and North American galleries and salerooms throughout the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century. Many of the items in the collection therefore come from other great collections, such as those of the Marquess of Salamanca, Prince Botkin, the Rothschild family, Randolph Hearst, etc.

Catalogue and other parallel activities - The Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation is publishing a catalogue in which various aspects of the Collection and the works on display are analysed in essays by leading specialists such as Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, José Luis Díez, Matías Díaz Padrón, Mercedes Royo-Villanova, Pilar Silva Maroto, etc. There will also be a series of parallel activities to complement the exhibition throughout the period during which it will be open, including lectures and educational workshops for schoolchildren and adults.