A un paso de Berlín (A station towards Berlin)

Carlos Collado

This work-in-progress defines itself as museological research and sheds light on the everyday reality and more remarkable moments in the life of a work of art. Since July of 2016, the Gemäldegalerie Berlin presents a major exhibition on the Spanish Siglo de Oro. For the show, the ensemble of saints in Road to Calvary left Spain for the first time, accompanied by a camera. The artist’s images depict several phases in the life of the sculpture: from the museum in Valladolid, through the Easter processions and journey to Germany, to a museum visitor observing the work in Berlin – offering a rare look behind the scenes. What appreciation do the statues experience when their life as a work of art and religious object in continuous liturgical use is made visible through photography and video, unusual media for Baroque sculptures? Collado’s images, presented in the Instituto Cervantes to accompany the major exhibition at the Gemäldegalerie, expand our view of the work of art and its world, giving expression to today’s perception and use of a centuries-old object.