LONDON—Once in a while, a painting moves me to such an extent that it takes my breath away. Each of the seven rare masterpieces in “Bartolomé Bermejo: Master of the Spanish Renaissance,” at the National Gallery in London, had this effect.
Around one-third (seven) of Bartolomé Bermejo’s paintings are in the exhibition, six of which have never before left Spain. All can be seen until Sept. 29. Included in the exhibition are his first and last documented paintings, “Saint Michael Triumphant Over the Devil With the Donor Antoni Joan” (1468) and the “Desplà Pietà” (1490), along with an exquisite manuscript that details payment of the Saint Michael painting.
