Carmelite Order
In Images
Art direction of the catalogue and digitisation and restoration of 60 archival photographs — some over a century old — for a travelling exhibition produced as part of the official programme of the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus (STJ 500).
Photography as guardian of memory. The first public showing of a century-old visual archive documenting the missionary presence of the Discalced Carmelites across four continents.
A century of visual history,
brought to light
The Discalced Carmelite Order holds in its General Archive in Rome (AGOCD) an extraordinary photographic collection: images documenting the history of the Order from the late 19th century to the mid-20th. This was their first public showing anywhere.
Within the framework of the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus (STJ 500) — a national programme under the honorary presidency of the King and Queen of Spain and a National Commission chaired by the Vice-President of the Government — the V Centenary Foundation commissioned Estudio Craft to digitise and restore its photographic archive for a travelling exhibition and its accompanying catalogue.
The collection spans over a century of photographic technique — from early glass-plate and albumen processes to later silver gelatin prints of the mid-20th century and beyond.
Archivio Generale dell'Ordine dei Carmelitani Scalzi (AGOCD) — Curia Generalizia, Corso d'Italia 38, Rome
Three projects
in one
Archival Collection Digitisation
The 60 photographs selected by the curator were digitised at high resolution from the originals held at the AGOCD. The work required coordinating capture standards with large-format printing requirements for the travelling exhibition.
Photographic Restoration, Image by Image
The restoration work required reconstruction, correction and recovery — and throughout, unification of aesthetic consistency across images from different origins and eras: missions in India, the Belgian Congo, South Korea, Chile and Iraq.
Catalogue Art Direction
The 75-page catalogue was the last part of the project, its visual approach grounded in the documentary nature of the archive — faithful to the visual grammar of its era — with a clean editorial voice that lets the material speak for itself.
The collection,
restored
60 original photographs digitised and restored from the General Archive of the Discalced Carmelites (AGOCD), Rome. Originals between 70 and 130 years old.
Three forms,
one message
The communication system extended across three physical expressions: the printed catalogue, the travelling exhibition, and the exhibition posters — each built from the same restored files, adapted for large-format exhibition mounting and prepared to withstand the demands of touring five venues.
Exhibition poster · Casa de América
Concert poster · Sevilla
Pilgrimage map · Latin America
Five cities
One exhibition
The exhibition toured five venues across Spain, part of the wider STJ 500 programme marking the Fifth Centenary of the Birth of Saint Teresa of Jesus.
| Venue | Details |
|---|---|
| LeónEdificio Botines | Building by Antoni Gaudí · CajaEspaña-Duero |
| ZamoraCentro Cultural San Torcuato | CajaEspaña-Duero · Now Unicaja |
| MadridCasa de América · Sala Frida Kahlo | Palacio de Linares · Ministry of Foreign Affairs · September 2015 |
| Venue | Details |
|---|---|
| SoriaCentro Cultural Gaya Nuño | Part of the STJ 500 programme |
| SalamancaSala Garci Grande · EspañaDuero | CajaEspaña-Duero · Now Unicaja |
| STJ 500Fifth Centenary, 2015 | National programme · Honorary presidency: H.M. the King and Queen of Spain |
Exhibition opening · Casa de América
Installation view · Soria
Inauguration · National Library of Spain
Who stood
behind it
Fundación V Centenario STJ
Client and promoter. National programme under the honorary presidency of the King and Queen of Spain. National Commission chaired by the Vice-President of the Government.
General Archive, Discalced Carmelites, Rome
Source of the photographic archival collection (AGOCD). First public exhibition of this material. Curator: Fr. Óscar Ignacio Aparicio Ahedo OCD, General Archivist.
Casa de América
Madrid venue. Sala Frida Kahlo, Palacio de Linares. Institution of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Fundación Repsol
Sponsor of the project within the STJ 500 programme.
Fundación Juan-Miguel Villar Mir
Sponsor of the project within the STJ 500 programme.
CajaEspaña-Duero / EspañaDuero
Sponsor and venue in León (Edificio Botines, by Gaudí) and Salamanca (Sala Garci Grande). Now Unicaja.
