Diocesan Museum traces art and spirituality across centuries in new exhibition

Barcelona adds a new exhibition to its cultural calendar with the opening of 'Habitar la Luz', exploring how art has represented spirituality and contemplation from the Renaissance and Baroque periods to modernity.

The exhibition brings together a selection of works by world-famous painters such as Francisco de Goya, Joaquín Sorolla, Tiziano, Zurbarán, Mattia Preti, Luca Giordano and Valdés Leal.

The pieces come from public and private collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville and the Museum of Montserrat.

Curated by art historian Helena Alonso, the exhibition is organised around "different aspects of women and men who decided to inhabit the light, living in another space and in another time."

Representation of women is approached by "creating a dialogue between centuries" placing Baroque works alongside Sorolla's early 20th-century paintings to show how the idea of 'inhabiting the light' has changed.

Connections are drawn between traditional religious imagery and today's renewed interest in spirituality. The exhibition addresses a contemporary audience by  exploring "the relevance of the Church in science, in knowledge, and in the preservation of the culture".

The approach helps visitors see the aesthetic and visual impact of artistic tradition and current sensibilities.

'Inhabiting the Light' will run until May at the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona.