Are you planning to visit Madrid, Spain in the near future and looking for some fun and interesting things to do and see while you’re in town? If so, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando is definitely something you should add to your itinerary. To help you become more familiar with this popular Madrid attraction, below we have compiled a few interesting facts about the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, including its history and location and some information regarding the collection contained within the museum.
About the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, or Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, is an establishment that serves as both a museum of fine arts and gallery, and is located on the Calle de Alcala in the center of Madrid.
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando was established by Royal Decree in 1744. Roughly twenty years later, King Charles III, known as the “enlightened monarch,” purchased a palace in Madrid that would become the academy’s new home. The original building purchased by the King had been designed as a residence for the Goyeneche family by the Spanish architect Jose Benito de Churriguera. Charles III, however, commissioned architect Diego Villanueva to convert the building for academic use, employing a neoclassical style of architecture to replace the Baroque design of Churriguera. Today the museum doubles as both a museum and gallery, showcasing a fine art collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and other pieces from the 15th to the 20th century. The academy is also the headquarters of the Madrid Academy of Art.
Many renowned Spanish artists received their education through the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando—an academy that was once directed by Francisco Goya among others. Famous alumni of the academy include Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Antonio Lopez Garcia, Juan Luna and Fernando Botero.
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando is one of eight Royal Academies throughout Spain whose aim is to foster creativity and engage in the study, dissemination and protection of arts and cultural heritage, particularly of painting, sculpture, architecture, music and arts of the new image.
Tourists who come to visit the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando will have plenty to see. The Academy currently houses more than 1,400 paintings, 600 sculptures and 15,000 drawings, as well as an impressive collection of decorative arts. The permanent collection includes masterpieces by Spanish, Italian and Flemish artists, including 13 paintings by Francisco Goya, such as his famous Bullfight painting and the famous carnival scene known as the Burial of the Sardine. Other works in the museum’s permanent collection include the Agnus Dei and Mercedarian Friars by Zurbaran; a Mary Magdalene by Ribera, which was signed in 1636; the Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, the only painting held in Spain by the artist Arcimboldo; Knight’s Dream by Pereda; and Ruben’s Old Testament scene Susannah and the Elders.
In the gallery room there are also several notable pieces on display, including Vanitas by Michel Bouillon, executed in 1668; the Cubist painting Still Life with Fruit Bowl, Bottle and Newspaper by Juan Gris; and part of the collection of drawings by Picasso from the Suite Vollard.
