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Works of the most significant Spanish painters and artists cooperating with the Spanish court will be displayed on this exhibition. Among the presented paintings, the exposition will include works by Cranach the Elder, El Greco, Zurbarán, Van Dyck, Rubens, Tintoretto, Picasso and Miró.

Over 60 masterpieces of the Santander Collection from Madrid will be assembled in Wroc?aw - paintings, several drawings and two works of great sculptors, Alberto Sánchez and Eduardo Chillida. This collection has been shown in different cities in Spain and in several American cities, but Wroc?aw will be the first European city outside Spain to host the exposition.

The National Museum in Wroclaw was not chosen by accident. It is the most important ... museum in Lower Silesia and one of the most significant in our country. It possess extremely rich collections, including sets of Medieval Art and Contemporary Art of European significance. The Santander Collection is presented in an institution which, like no other in Poland, is predisposed to cooperate with Spanish institutions.

The National Museum in Wroc?aw is, in fact, the only institution in Poland, which owns a set of dozens artworks by Spanish artists from the 1950s and the 1960s, which were repeatedly exhibited in the museum between 1972 and 2002. Moreover, in 2004 took place an exhibition of sculptures and drawings by Eduardo Chillida, and in 2005 an exposition of Silesian Baroque Art was prepared and subsequently presented with a success in Salamanca.

'The exhibition of the Santander Collection is consequently a creative continuation of previous activities, and simultaneously is the first such a valuable presentation of European Art '- says Mariusz Hermansdorfer, director of the National Museum in Wroc?aw. 'It is a unique occasion to Polish viewers, devoid of daily possibility to commune with masterpieces of global significance. I would like to give a proper respect and an expression of gratitude to Fundación Banco Santander and to Bank Zachodni WBK cooperating with it, for presentation of this collection'.

'I am convinced that for everyone who is sensitive to the beauty, visiting the exhibition 'From Cranach to Picasso' will be an unforgettable experience. The Santander Collection is enriched and nurtured for generations. It is an example not only of a successful investment, but also is an expression of concern for common heritage of European culture' - says Mateusz Morawiecki, President of Bank Zachodni WBK - 'I also hope, that hosting such a prestigious set of masterpieces in our country will be an inspiring factor to more dynamic development of similar collections in Poland'. Borja Baselga, General Director of Fundación Banco Santander emphasized an effort of the Santander Group and the Foundation, made in order to acquaint Spanish viewers to Polish Art by organizing an exhibition in the Royal Palace in Madrid in 2011, on which were presented 'some of the greatest works from Polish collections, including Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci from The National Museum in Cracow. An exchange between collections of these two countries will be continued within the framework of an exhibition of the greatest masterpieces of the Santander Collection in Wroc?aw'.

The exhibits originate from a period covering almost 500 years and they are shown chronologically from the 1530s until 1973. 'We made every endeavour to present on the display various genres of painting - religious paintings, portraits, works with motives of legends and mythology, landscapes, bouquets of flowers, still lifes and works representing Informel Art' - says José Manuel Cruz Valdovinos, a curator of the exhibition and an author of introduction to the catalog. In the first hall will be assembled the oldest artworks, including absolutely exceptional painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder. 'The artist has created a large amount of paintings, he repeated some of them several times, but the theme The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist is a unique work in his output. It is signed with a symbol of a snake with lowered wings, therefore we know, that it was made after the year 1537, in which the artist's son, Hans, died'. Another exhibited painting, The Crucifixion by El Greco, was made in a late period of artist's work. Lengthened proportions of a body, disproportions of a fantastic vision of Toledo and light effects are the features of Mannerism typical of El Greco. Virgin Mary as The Sleeping Girl is a charming picture by Francisco de Zurbarán, and simultaneously is a prominent picture due to the realism, with which it reflects material properties of presented objects. The next hall, devoted to the 16th-century and the 17th-century portraits, will include paintings created by such prominent artists as: Tintoretto, Van Dyck and Rubens. Walking through the next rooms, visitors will have an opportunity to trace the further development of Spanish art and to see examples of paintings by Romantics, Realists, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists up to the different trends in Abstract Art. On the display will be presented two portraits by Joaquín Sorolla - one of the best known Spanish painters of the turn of the 19th and 20th century. 'International fame which he gained during his life, seems to reborn in our time. The artist is especially appreciated for his marine landscapes depicting sea, boats and beach, often classified as impressionistic, although, in fact, they represent Luminism, because they are based on Realism transformed by the play of the light. On the exhibition will be presented two examples from the magnificent and rich output of Sorolla as a portraitist - a portrait of his pupil Agustín Otermín from 1892 and a painting most probably depicting The Count de Casal from 1899. Both of them are images of artist's friends, completely different than portraits made to order' - says the curator Valdovinos. It is also worth paying attention to paintings by Francisco Iturrino, Fauvism Artist, a friend of Matisse. They were both painting the same models, therefore their works are often incorrectly attributed. The last hall comprises paintings and sculptures by great Spanish artists of the 20th c., including works of two major artists of this century - Picasso and Miró. Bust of a Knight III (1967) by Picasso and Personnage (1973) by Miró indicate how these authors, in advanced age, use their own, simplified languages - Synthetic Cubism and Abstract Surrealism - by means of which they were reviving western art over decades.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog including comprehensive descriptions of each artwork, edited by professionals and, on the occasion of the exhibition, updated from the point of view of the latest scientific discoveries.

Santander Collection comprises paintings, drawings, sculptures, tapestries and decorative works of art, as well as hundreds of coins beaten in Spain since the 3rd century BC to the 20th century. The exhibits are either the property of bank institutions, which became part of Banco Santander, or have been bought recently. A large part of the Collection is accessible to the audience in the Santander Fine Arts Hall, located in Ciudad Financiera de Boadilla del Monte (Madrid). Outside the building are placed large size sculptures, made by recognized contemporary Spanish and foreign artists, in accordance with the idea behind the Collection - the idea of modernity and global reach of collected sets.