The Captive Gods: Mythology at the Prado

In his groundbreaking treatise on painting, written in the mid-15th century, L. B. Alberti (1404-1472) established history as the main key to a work of art. Thus did the great Italian humanist and artist (also the most influential theorist on Renaissance art) reaffirm the narrative basis of the classical artistic tradition, while also stressing the concern for telling exemplary tales, particularly those inspired by Greek and Roman mythology. The fecund influence of this criterion is clear from the fact that three-quarters of Western art deals with mythological themes. For art lovers it is therefore vital to be able to identify and decode these mythological themes, the scope of which affects any field of Western culture, ancient or modern. All major historical museums, not least the Prado, are full of the widest-ranging and most varied casuistry on mythological themes, which need to be analyzed from many different perspectives. This course is designed to address mythology without neglecting the philological, aesthetical moral, anthropological, psychological or political implications, doing so with the views and ideas of the best Spanish and international specialists.

12/01/11 The Gods are thirsty
  Francisco Calvo Serraller

19/01/11 Myths and desires: luck, pleasure, power and immortality
  Rosa López Torrijos

26/01/11 Carlos García Gual
  The Judgement of Paris

02/02/11  Miguel Ángel Elvira
  Prometheus and the search for fire

09/02/11 Miguel Falomir
  The Furies: From political allegory to artistic challenge

16/02/11 Javier Barón
  Modern visions of the ancient gods, from Goya to Picasso

23/02/11 Javier Portús
  Diego Velázquez: mythology as paradoxical narration

02/03/11 Gabriele Finaldi
  Poussin for the King of Spain: Meleager’s Hunt