Blockbuster Zobel Prado show comes to Manila

MANILA, Philippines — The blockbuster Prado show – that had thrown a spotlight on a Philippine-born artist for the first time in Madrid since the glory days of Juan Luna – is coming to Asia for the very first time at the Ayala Museum beginning Sept. 9.

Titled “Zobel: The Future of the Past,” it attracted a record 80,000 visitors in just four months at Spain’s prestigious national museum. The modernist Fernando Zobel is only the second abstract painter ever to be honored in such a way in its august halls. The first was Pablo Picasso.

The exhibition’s Spanish curators have journeyed to Manila to re-create that stunning Prado experience while adding other dimensions that are expected to thrill Zobel’s Filipino enthusiasts.

Making a strong debut at this upcoming Philippine show will be the never-before-seen artwork “El Cristo de Lepanto” (“The Cross of Lepanto”),  Zobel’s painted dialogue bridging time and space with Juan Luna’s masterpiece “Battle of Lepanto.” That first Lepanto was commissioned in 1884 by the King of Spain as a further homage to Luna who had just won a gold for the “Spoliarium.” 

Co-curators Manuel Fontan del Junco of the Juan March Foundation alongside Felipe Pereda, who holds the Fernando Zobel chair at Harvard University, call this one of the jewels in the exhibition and key to understanding Zobel’s genius. Indeed, Fontan and Pereda have subtitled the landmark show as “The routes of a cosmopolitan,” a reference to Zobel’s hybridity that made him an important figure in the art landscape on three continents, spanning Asia, America and Europe.

But there are many gems to behold for the first time in the Philippines in this show. These include iconic works that reflect Zobel’s enduring artistic legacy as well as his sketchbooks that trace his artistic process. The 200 must-see artworks on show were drawn from important collections across the world.

It’s a fitting homecoming to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the artist that helped define modern art not only in the Philippines but also in Spain. He considered both countries equally his spiritual home. Zobel envisioned the present-day Ayala Museum as a cultural nucleus for his beloved Makati, an innovative urban development that he was likewise instrumental in creating. Coincidentally, that institution marks its 50th year in 2024 as well.

Previews begin on Sept. 9; “Zobel: The Future of the Past” opens to the public on Friday, Sept. 14, with a first day of free admission.

The exhibition travels to the Singapore National Gallery in 2025.