A mind-bending, revelatory exhibition of works by Francisco de Zurbarán is now on display at the National Gallery in London, packed with extraordinary loans from the Prado and other top museums. This show proves that the 17th-century Spanish painter belongs alongside Goya and Picasso as a Spanish great. The exhibition runs from 2 May to 23 August.
Also Showing
Our George Crompton
Gilbert & George pay homage to their late homeless friend who appeared with them in their art and shared their life. The Gilbert & George Centre, London, 1 May to 2027.
Lynn Chadwick
Outdoor sculptures that teeter between abstraction and expression by this post-second world war British artist. Houghton Hall, Norfolk, 2 May to 4 October.
Angel Otero
Thickly built up, imagistic paintings by a Puerto Rico-born artist who has had a residency at this gallery in Somerset. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, 2 May to 18 October.
Daiga Grantina
A Latvian sculptor based in Paris reveals her enigmatic abstract art with unexpectedly lush evocations of nature. Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, 2 May to 28 June.
Image of the Week
A new statue by Banksy in central London depicts a man marching forward off a plinth while carrying a large, billowing flag that obscures his face. A video Banksy posted on social media shows the statue being towed to Westminster in the dead of night.
What We Learned
- An 8ft statue of screen boxer Rocky is the centrepiece of a show about monuments.
- The director who succeeds Maria Balshaw at the Tate galleries has a tricky job ahead.
- Johnnie Shand Kydd, famed for photographing the YBAs, is focused on his lurchers.
- Our correspondent and her son took a child’s eye look at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
- Loie Hollowell’s anatomical abstractions draw on Georgia O’Keeffe – and hormones.
- Paulo Nimer Pjota began graffiti art at 13. Now he’s taken over a London gallery.
- Francisco de Zurbarán had extraordinary supernatural visions.
- The roots of Nancy Holt’s spectacular land art can be found on a small sheet of paper.
- Artist and DJ Linett Kamala has reinvented maypole dancing with dancehall and drum’n’bass.
- The billionaire Spurs owner is selling off his Klimts, Matisses and Freuds.
Masterpiece of the Week
Saint Mary Magdalene by Guido Reni, 1634-5
Bold and passionate images of women often appear in 17th-century baroque art. Guido Reni depicts the penitent Magdalene, identified by her fiery red robe and long sensual hair. She stares up at heaven, praying for God’s forgiveness. The purpose of baroque religious paintings like this is to elicit empathy and identification. Sinners are invited to put themselves in Mary Magdalene’s place, to share her longing for absolution. She is not an object seen from outside, but a vessel for subjective religious feeling and mystical transports. The onlooker, female or male, melts into her sorrow. National Gallery, London.
