Bernini's Souls. Art in Rome for the Spanish Court

On display at the Museo del Prado until 8 February are two exhibitions: Bernini's "Souls". Art in Rome for the Spanish court and Spanish Drawings from the Hamburger Kunsthalle: Cano, Murillo and Goya. These two important events are part of the Museum's temporary exhibition programme, which is completed this season by Goya in Madrid, sponsored by Fundación AXA.

Bernini's "Souls" recreates the complex and fascinating relationship between the Italian artist and Spain, taking its starting point from the two remarkable sculptures of the Anima beata and the Anima dannata that were executed with astonishing maturity by the young sculptor for the Spanish prelate Pedro de Foix Montoya. They are now exhibited for the first time at the Prado as the opening works in the exhibition. 23 works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini plus 16 by other artists, including Codazzi and Velázquez, provide a rich and eloquent context for Bernini's relationship with the Spanish crown, consolidated during the pontifical reigns of Innocent X and Alexander VII.

Some of these Spanish commissions are included in the present exhibition, from the Souls to the beautiful, small bronze Equestrian Sculpture of Charles II, commissioned by the Marquis del Carpio and exhibited here for the first time in Spain. The exhibition also includes architectural and sculptural projects such as the Monument to Philip IV in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome; drawings relating to the design and organisation of canonisation ceremonies such as the one for Saint Thomas of Villanueva in Saint Peter's; and designs for temporary structures including firework devices for the celebrations of The Birth of the Infanta Margarita and those to mark The Peace of Aachen. Also included in the exhibition is Bernini's bust of Paul V's nephew Cardinal Scipione Borghese, a patron who recognised the artist's remarkable talents at an early date and became a loyal supporter of his career.

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is among Bernini's most celebrated and characteristic creations and one that reflects his idea of art as "the unity of the visual arts." In addition, it is devoted to a religious subject of a notably Spanish nature. The exhibition includes the terracotta bozzeto for this sculptural group, loaned from the Hermitage Museum.

Bernini's "Souls". Art in Rome for the Spanish Court Curator: Delfín Rodríguez Ruiz, Professor of Art History at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.