The Triumph of the Eucharist over Idolatry, Rubens, 1625-1626, oil on panel, 63,5 x 105,7 cm. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. 

MADRID.- Until 29 June the Museo del Prado is presenting Rubens. The Triumph of the Eucharist, an exhibition featuring the six panels from this series in the Museum’s collection following their recent restoration. The Eucharist series was one of the most important commissions received by the artist, in which the panels on The Triumph of the Church and The Victory of Truth over Heresy are particularly notable. The exhibition also includes four of the tapestries woven from these designs, which belong to Patrimonio Nacional. The exhibition enables visitors to appreciate the complex and painstaking process behind the restoration of this unique group of works, initiated in 2011 with the support of Fundación Iberdrola, which sponsors the Museum’s Restoration Programme, along with a grant from the Getty Foundation as part of its Panel Paintings Initiative. The initiative seeks to train the next generation of conservators of old master paintings on wooden panels. Following its display at the Museo del Prado, the exhibition, a collaboration with the J. Paul Getty Museum, will travel to Los Angeles where it will be on view at the Getty from 14 October, 2014 to 4 January, 2015. 

With the exhibition Rubens. The Triumph of the Eucharist, the Museo del Prado is highlighting the importance of a rigorous and meticulous restoration project, presenting visitors with the results of this initiative in an ideal context. Introduced by a portrait of the Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, who commissioned the project from Rubens, the exhibition consists of the six, recently restored panels from the series and four of the tapestries on which they are based, loaned from the convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid. 

The exhibition also includes supporting graphic material and texts that explain the importance of this project and the complex restoration process that Rubens’s works have undergone. The recent restoration has enabled the paintings to recover their original freshness and beauty and ensures their correct conservation in the future. 

El Triunfo de la Iglesia, Rubens. Óleo sobre tabla, 63,5 x 105 cm, hacia 1625. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

The Triumph of the Eucharist over Idolatry, Rubens, 1625-1626, oil on panel, 63,5 x 105,7 cm. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

The Triumph of Divine Love, Rubens, 1625-1626, oil on panel, 65,5 x 66,5 cm. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado