The Spanish Golden Age

Just occasionally, in the world of theatre, film or art, one gets a shock. Either something you'd anticipated would be wonderful, turns out to be a disappointment, or something you'd not heard much about, turns out to be sensational - the latter happened yesterday. On my monthly culture-vulture trip, three of us went to The Sacred Made Real exhibition at the National Gallery, and were blown away. The pictures are of course remarkable, because with names like Diego Velazquez, Alonso Cano, Francisco Ribalta, what else would you expect, but it's the painted wooden sculptures that will remain in your memory for the rest of your life. However, both of my colleagues, who felt exactly the same way about the exhibition, did remind me that I'm one of those rare Englishmen who prefer sculptures to paintings. The exhibition was put together by Xavier Bray, who deserves immense praise for his scholarship and determination to bring these magnificent pieces to London. This exhibition is on until January 24th - do not miss it. It's the best thing I've seen in years.