The Sacred Made Real

The polychromed sculptures are the main attraction here. While paintings by the likes of Velazquez and Zurburan form an interesting comparison with their three-dimensional counterparts, it's the astonishing detail of the sculptures that makes an impact. The robes of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception are beautiful in their colour and presentation of texture, while the skill of the painters involved is obviously in the faces of Saint Francis Borgia and Saint Ignatius Loyola (the latter complete with glass tears) Elsewhere real hair is used for eyelashes, while glass eyes catch the light (if you've ever thought that the eyes of a painting followed you around a room, prepare to be seriously unnerved) What could have been horribly garish in fact becomes deeply fascinating. Walking around the Christ figures, complete with the gory results of flagellation, makes one intensely aware of both the injuries and the suffering. This reaches its height in the lifesize figure of the dead Christ, which manages to be both shocking (open red wounds contrasted with ghastly whitish-blue flesh) and moving (the unbearable poignancy of a dead body) No wonder many of these images are still paraded and venerated to this day. You don't have to be a Catholic - or even religious - to appreciate the artistry and power of these works.