Works from the likes of Raphael and Correggio will be on show in Melbourne next year when Spain's Museo del Prado tours its collection of Italian masterpieces.
Paintings and drawings spanning the early 16th to the 18th centuries will be exhibited in the Italian Masterpieces from Spain's Royal Court, Museo del Prado exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) from May 16 next year.
The exhibition is part of the gallery's Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, which has attracted more than four million visitors since it began in 2004.
It will be the first time the Museo del Prado in Madrid has toured its Italian masterpieces collection.
The exhibition will feature works from 70 Italian masters including Raphael, Correggio, Titian and Carracci.
NGV director Tony Ellwood says Spanish ruler Emperor Charles V began a tradition of collecting Italian paintings.
"The exhibition will reflect the taste of the Spanish Royal Court whose kings and courtiers avidly collected Italian art," he said.
More than 100 works will be on display, with some paintings measuring more than three metres.
Among the showpieces is Raphael's Holy Family With Saint John (also known as Madonna of the Rose).
* Italian Masterpieces from Spain's Royal Court Museo del Prado will run at the National Gallery of Victoria from May 16 to August 31, 2014.
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