To coincide with the major National Gallery Sainsbury Wing exhibition, The Sacred Made Real, Room 1 hosts a special display examining the technical challenges of making a polychrome (painted) sculpture.

The exhibition focuses on the creation of Francisco Antonio Ruiz Gijón’s sculpture of 'Saint John of the Cross', 1675. The exhibition responds to recent research, revealing the full complexity of the processes involved, from the carving and gessoing of the wood to the finishing touches of paint which make the sculpture seem ‘alive’.

Visitors will have the chance to gain an understanding of an art form which thrived in 17th-century Spain and remains alive today. The exhibition will feature a modern-day bust-length copy of Gijón’s 'Saint John of the Cross' by the Seville-based sculptor-painter Darío Fernández .

'The Making of a Spanish Polychrome Sculpture' is generously supported by The Matthiesen Foundation, London, and Coll & Cortes, Madrid .