Raphael, Zurbarán and Sergel – Old Masters in remarkable exhibitions
Raphael, Zurbarán and Sergel are Old Masters to be seen this year in exhibitions in Stockholm, New York, Paris, Chicago and London, in dedicated shows that are a mix of monographic analysis and topical thematic subjects.
Sergel – Fantasy and Reality
From February 19 to August 9, the Nationalmuseum Stockholm is hosting the exhibition “Sergel – Fantasy and Reality”, which will then travel – in a reduced version – to the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, from October 30 to January 31, 2027.
Sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel (1740 – 1814) is finally getting the recognition he deserves in a major monographic exhibition at the National Museum in Stockholm. An artist full of contradictions, the 18th-century Swede is known as much for his neoclassical sculptures – slender marble figures that reinterpret antiquity with a new sensuality – as for the portraits of his circle of artists and erotic drawings that challenge a rethinking of the social norms of his time.
Johan Tobias Sergel, Passionate Lovers
The exhibition curated by Daniel Prytz will present new research on Sergel’s extensive artistic network and how it shaped his distinctive style. In addition to his close friend, the Danish painter Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard, his circle of friends included renowned artists from the British Isles such as Henry Fuseli, Thomas Banks, Alexander Runciman and James Barry.
Raphael – Sublime Poetry
An unprecedented exhibition dedicated to the work of Renaissance master Rafael Sanzio, a first for the United States, is being prepared by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for 2026.
“Raphael: Sublime Poetry” is the first dedicated to Italian Renaissance art since the fall 2024 landmark exhibition “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300 – 1350,” which explored the beginnings of the Renaissance nearly two centuries before Raphael.
Open from March 29 to June 28, 2026, the exhibition of 200 works by the artist, including paintings, drawings, tapestries and decorative objects, is organized by Carmen Bambach, curator of the American Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints and organizer of the Met’s acclaimed Michelangelo exhibition in 2017.
Raphael, The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia with Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine, and Mary Magdalene, ca. 1515 – 1516
Zurbarán
The ”Zurbarán” exhibition opens at the National Gallery in London on May 2 and runs until August 23. From October 7, it will be hosted by the Louvre Museum in Paris, then, from February 28, by the Art Insttitute of Chicago.
The Spanish Baroque painter Francisco de Zurbarán (1598 – 1664), sometimes nicknamed the ‘Caravaggio of Spain’, is famous for his solemn and devotional paintings of saints and martyrs, which convey the Counter-Reformation ideals of austere piety.
An accomplished story-teller, Zurbarán is also analyzed through the prism of his practice in still life, famous thanks to his technique.
Francisco de Zurbarán, Agnus Dei, 1635 – 1640
