Cerralbo Museum

Cerralbo Museum

Museo Cerralbo
File:Palacio del Marqués de Cerralbo (Madrid) 01.jpg Façade of Cerralbo Museum, at 17 Calle de Ventura Rodríguez
Established	1944
Location	Calle Ventura Rodríguez 17, Madrid, Spain
Coordinates
Type	Fine art museum, numismatic museum, antiquities museum, decorative arts museum
Spanish Property of Cultural Interest
Official name: Museo Cerralbo
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
Designated	1962
Reference no.	RI-51-0001382

The Cerralbo Museum (Spanish: Museo Cerralbo) is a State-owned museum located in Madrid, Spain. It houses the art and historical object collections of Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, Marquis of Cerralbo, who died in 1922.

History

File:Entrance Hall 3. Museo Cerralbo.jpg

The staircase

Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa, the Marquis of Cerralbo, opened the place as private gallery in 1893.

After the Spanish State accepted to inherit the collection in 1924, the building opened to students and researchers. The Marquis' collection was split, with a part moved to the National Archaeological Museum and the rest remaining at the building, which was constituted as a proper museum in 1944.

The building was built in the 19th century, according to Italian taste, and it was luxuriously decorated with baroque furniture, wall paintings and expensive chandeliers. It retains to a large extent its original aesthetics.

The building was protected as historical-artistic monument in 1962.

Collection

With more than 24,900 pieces, the original collection featured a large numismatics collection. The archaeology collection originally included the Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian pieces characteristic of 19th collectors, as well as items from the Iberian Peninsula (Neolithic, Iberian, Roman, Almohad) and two stone masks from Puerto Rico. The museum hosts a collection of Oriental art items, chiefly Chinese art and Japanese art.

The exhibited objects consists of items from the personal collections of the Marquis of Cerralbo and the Marquise of Villa-Huerta.

Paintings

The Marquis showed a preference for Spanish and Italian works and religious and portrait paintings. Painting works include works by Jacopo Tintoretto, Jacopo Palma the Younger, El Greco, Ludovico Carracci, Alonso Cano, Zurbarán and Luis Paret.

Gallery

Frans Snyders, Porcupines and vipers Frans Snyders, Porcupines and vipers  Juan de Espinosa, Life Still with grapes and cakes Juan de Espinosa, Life Still with grapes and cakes  Luis Paret, Seascape with figures Luis Paret, Seascape with figures

El Greco, Saint Francis in Ecstasy El Greco, Saint Francis in Ecstasy  Francisco de Zurbarán, The Inmaculate Conception Francisco de Zurbarán, The Inmaculate Conception  Anton Van Dyck, La Virgen con el niño Anton Van Dyck, La Virgen con el niño

Archaeology

The bulk of the archaeology section consists of the Marquis' numismatics collection.

Decorative arts

The decorative arts section features porcelain pieces, pottery, tapestries, carpets, furniture, lamps and jewellery.

Clocks

The museum also hosts a collection of 18th and 19th-century French and English clocks.

References

Citations

Bibliography

See also

• List of museums in Madrid

External links

• Official website
• Cerralbo Museum within Google Arts & Culture
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons