A Pasadena Masterpiece at the Prado
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| Francisco de Zurbarán, Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose, 1633. The Norton Simon Foundation (c) The Norman Simon Foundation |
The Norton Simon Museum's rarely lent Zurburán Still Life with Lemons, Oranges and a Rose is now the subject of a focus exhibition at the Prado, Madrid, through June 30, 2024. Rediscovered in the 1920s, it is the Spanish artist's only signed and dated still life. Norton Simon bought it from the estate of Florentine collector Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi in 1972.
This raises the question of whether the Prado will reciprocate with a loan to Pasadena. In recent years the NSM has arranged reciprocal loans with the Frick, National Gallery (U.S. and U.K.), and Musée d'Orsay.
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| Installation view, Prado. Photo (c) Museo Nacional del Prado |
Comments
Re reciprocal loans: "Las Meninas," perhaps? AS IF! Spain would have to freeze over before they'd ever let that leave.
NSM should have held out for something sublime. "The Adoration of the Magi", for example:
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-adoration-of-the-magi/7c00aa01-3162-49a7-9e75-4f885a4a2c83