A unique experience is coming to Attenborough Arts Centre on Monday 10 June, where you can join us for an evening with Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery.
As the start of our Culture Talks series, Finaldi will be in conversation with Professor David Ekserdijan about the past, present and future of one of the world’s leading art galleries as well as his own career. There will be opportunities to put your own questions to Dr Finaldi as the National Gallery enters its third century.
Gabriele Finaldi has been Director of the National Gallery since August 2015 and was previously Deputy Director for Collections and Research at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, a position he took up in 2002. In May 2024 the National Gallery launched NG200, a year of celebrations to mark its Bicentenary – 200 years of bringing people and paintings together – and in 2025 the Sainsbury Wing will re-open following major renovations.
Prior to his role at the Prado, he was a curator at the National Gallery between 1992 and 2002 where he was responsible for the later Italian paintings in the collection (Caravaggio to Canaletto) and the Spanish collection (Bermejo to Goya). Born in London in 1965, Gabriele Finaldi studied art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art where he completed his doctorate in 1995 on the 17th-century Spanish painter who worked in Italy, Jusepe de Ribera. He has curated exhibitions in Britain, Spain, Italy, and Belgium and he has written catalogues and scholarly articles on Velázquez and Zurbarán, on Italian Baroque painting, on religious iconography, and on Picasso.
His conversational partner will be David Ekserdjian, a Professor of History of Art and Film at the University of Leicester, and a specialist in the art of the Italian Renaissance. He is a former Trustee of the National Gallery, Tate, Art UK, and Sir John Soane’s Museum. He is the author of various books, most recently The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece: Between Icon and Narrative (2021), Albrecht Dürer: Art and Autobiography and Giovan Francesco Caroto: Portrait of a Boy Holding a Drawing (both 2023). He has organised numerous exhibitions, including Bronze (Royal Academy, 2012) and – with Tom Henry – Raphael (National Gallery, 2022).
Join us for an unforgettable evening that will also include a complimentary welcome drink and an exclusive preview of our gallery spaces ahead of the opening of the new exhibition. To book your tickets, visit our webpage by clicking here.