Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828), The Duchess of Alba, 1796-1797, oil on canvas, 210.2 cm x 149.2 cm. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York.

 CINCINNATI, OH.- Treasures of the Spanish World explores the visual cultures of Spain and Latin America across 4,000 years, through some of the finest artworks from the Iberian Peninsula and Spanish America. The exhibition, organized in partnership with the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, is being presented at the Cincinnati Art Museum from October 25, 2019–January 19, 2020.

From Copper Age ceramics, medieval metalwork, Renaissance sculpture and portraits by Velázquez and Goya, to Mexican featherwork mosaics, Colombian lacquerware, rare early maps of the Americas and the light-suffused paintings of Sorolla at the turn of the twentieth century, these artworks manifest the richly layered cultures of Spain under Roman, Islamic and Christian rule and the Spanish influence in the Americas.

Treasures of the Spanish World offers audiences an unprecedented survey of some of the great artistic traditions of Europe and the Americas. Peter Jonathan Bell, the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Associate Curator of European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings, is curating the exhibition in Cincinnati. 

Torso of Diana the huntress, Roman. Antonine Period, 138-150 AD. Marble, high 59.5 cm. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York, D205.

“We aim not only to present exhibition visitors with artworks of the highest caliber and significance that sketch the outlines of some of the globe’s most vital artistic cultures, but also to bring these treasures and their stories to new audiences,” Bell said. The Cincinnati Art Museum will present all exhibition texts in English and Spanish.

The exhibition first appeared at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain, where it received wide international acclaim in 2017. It also traveled to the Museo del Palacio de Bella Artes in Mexico City and the Albuquerque Museum in New Mexico. After its presentation at the Cincinnati Art Museum, the exhibition will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

The exhibition is accompanied by a lavishly-illustrated scholarly catalogue, Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, edited by Mitchell A. Codding, Executive Director and President of the Hispanic Society. 

Khalaf (act. at Madinat al-Zahra’), Pyxis. Ivory with chased and nielloed silver-gilt mounts, high 16 cm; base 10.1 cmca. 966 AD. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York.

Alhambra silk, Nasrid, Granada, ca. 1400. Silk, 237.5 cm x 152.3 cm. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York. 

Hebrew Bible, Spain and Portugal, 1450-1496. Illuminated manuscript on parchment, high 28.9 cm; width 25 cm; depth 13 cm. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York.

Diego Velázquez, Gaspar de Guzmán, Conde-Duque de Olivares, ca. 1625-26. Oil on canvas, 222 cm x 137.8 cm Framed 255 cm x 170 cm x 5 cm. Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York.