The University of Arizona
Museum of Art and Archive of Visual Arts

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Secrets of the Divine: The Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo

one hour special presentation
November 18 + 21, 2010

St. Bartholomew and St. John the Divine

Fernando Gallego
St. Bartholomew and St. John the Divine, 1480-88
Oil on wood panel
Gift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation


Secrets of the Divine, a one hour documentary chronicling the five-year research project that explored the origins and mysteries of the Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo, will air on Arizona Public Media's PBS-HD Channel 6 on Thursday, November 18th at 8 pm, with a rebroadcast on Sunday, November 21st at 3 pm.. The film was created locally by Emmy-award winning producer Sooyeon Lee and Arizona Public Media with grant support by The Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

The altarpiece is the centerpiece of the University of Arizona Museum of Art collection and consists of 26 fifteenth century Spanish paintings by artists Francisco Gallego and a second newly identified artist, Maestro Bartolomé. Gallego and Bartolomé are regarded as two of the most important artists of the Hispano-Flemish style of painting, and the altarpiece is considered by many experts to be the most important example of this period in the United States, and perhaps the world

Research on the altarpiece was an international collaboration consisting of the University of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson, Arizona; the Meadows Museum in Dallas, Texas; the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas; the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain, and the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California. Secrets of the Divine follows the physical examination of the paintings utilizing pigment analysis as well as x-ray, ultraviolet and infrared reflectography to look beneath the layers of paint to discover the secrets that have lay hidden for over 500 years. The goal in bringing together this remarkable array of technology was to provide noted art historians with new data and images of the underdrawings beneath the paint. These, never before seen images, were used to ascertain authorship of each painting and to gain insight into Gallego's and Bartholomé's 15th century workshops.

The results eclipsed expectations. Not only were distinct differences discovered in the underdrawings between the artists, historians were able to gain insights into the creative processes of each and on the influences of Flemish art on the art of Spain at the time.

Narrated by NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg, Secrets of the Divine vividly explores the amazing technology and chronicles the art historical journey that the scholars took to capture this intriguing story. The cinematographers traveled to Tucson, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Madrid, Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo in Spain and the English countryside to capture the history of the altarpiece. The film presents a rare view of science and the arts working together to solve a 500-year-old mystery.

Secrets of the Divine

Visit our Exhibition History page for information on past exhibitions at UAMA.