Museo de Bellas Artes de Álava facts for kids
View of the museum
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| Established | 1942 |
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| Location | Fray Francisco Street,8, Vitoria-Gasteiz |
The Museum of Fine Arts of Álava (Spanish: Museo de Bellas Artes de Álava, Basque: Arabako Arte Ederren Museoa) is a cool place to visit in Vitoria-Gasteiz, which is the capital city of the Basque Country in Spain. This museum is all about Spanish art from the 1700s to the 1900s. It has a special focus on art from the Basque Country made between 1850 and 1950. The museum first opened its doors in 1942 and is located inside a beautiful old building called the Augustin Zulueta Palace.
Contents
A Look Back: The Museum's Story
The Augustin Zulueta Palace: A Grand Home
Back in 1912, a wealthy couple named Elvira Zulueta and Ricardo Augustin started building their dream home. This grand house, now known as the Augustin Zulueta Palace, is on Fray Francisco Street. Elvira came from a rich family in Vitoria. After she married Ricardo in 1905, they decided to build a huge mansion in Vitoria's fancy neighborhood.
They chose two talented architects, Julián de Apraiz (1876–1962) and Francisco Javier de Luque (1871–1941), to design their home. These architects were famous because they had won a competition in 1906 to design Vitoria's new cathedral.
Building the palace was a very big and complicated job for that time, but it was finished in 1916. Sadly, Elvira passed away suddenly in September 1917. After that, Ricardo Augustin slowly started spending less time in Vitoria, leaving the palace empty for most of the year. He lived there on and off until 1930, when he moved to Madrid for good. In 1941, after the Spanish Civil War ended, he sold the palace to the Foral Deputation of Álava, which is like the local government of Álava.
How the Museum Started and Grew
The idea of having a museum in Álava is actually very old! As far back as 1792, a group called the Royal Basque Society had a library and a collection of old Roman tombstones in Vitoria. Later, in 1844, a "Gallery of Pictures" was set up in a room of the Palace House. By the late 1800s, a man named Federico Baraibar had gathered old archaeological items in what he called the "Incipient Museum." This collection was kept in the halls of a secondary school. There was also an Arts and Crafts school that had rooms with artworks, mostly by local artists.
For many years, local newspapers kept asking for a proper museum to be created. This finally started to happen in 1940 when the Culture Council of Álava was formed. One of their main goals was to create and run a museum, a library, and an archive for the province. The first big step was in 1941 when they bought the Augustin Zulueta Palace. The plan was for this building, called Casa de Álava, to hold art, archaeology collections, the library, and the province's archive. The Diocese of Vitoria (a church organization) donated many religious artworks. Other artworks came from the Museo del Prado (a famous museum in Madrid) and from private people. The museum officially opened in 1942.
In 1975, the museum began collecting modern art. This collection later became one of the best in Spain! From 1978 to 1980, the collection of Basque art was moved to a nearby palace called Ajuria Enea. But when Ajuria Enea became the official home of the Lehendakari (the leader of the Basque government), the art collection was moved back to the provincial museum. In 1984, the local government bought a collection of playing cards from Félix Alfaro Fournier (1895–1989). This playing card collection later got its own museum, the Fournier Museum of Playing Cards.
The museum closed for a while in 1999 for big renovations. During this time, the religious art was moved to the new Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Álava. The modern art collection went to Artium, another museum. Today, the Museum of Fine Arts of Álava has three parts: the original palace, an addition built in the 1960s, and a new section where visitors enter.
What You Can See Today
When you visit the museum, your tour usually starts on the ground floor. Here, you'll find rooms dedicated to Basque art from 1850 to 1950. You can see how painting styles changed over time, starting with early artists like Juan Angel Sáez (1811–1873), Antonio Lecuona, Eduardo Zamacois y Zabala, and Jose Etxenagusia. The display then moves on to more creative artists such as Adolfo Guiard, Darío de Regoyos, and Juan de Echevarría. Finally, you'll see works by important artists from just before the Spanish Civil War, like Julián de Tellaeche (1884–1957).
Also on the first floor, you'll discover other amazing works by Basque artists. These include large paintings by Ignacio Zuloaga, Aurelio Arteta, Elías Salaverria, Francisco Iturrino, and the brothers Ramón and Valentín de Zubiaurre. In these artworks, you can see how traditional art styles mix with more modern ideas.
The second floor is all about the artist Fernando de Amárica. His foundation donated many of his works for a permanent display here. By looking at his art in order, you can follow how his painting style changed throughout his long career. You'll see examples of realism (showing things as they really are), impressionism (focusing on light and feeling), and expressionism (showing strong emotions).
In the part of the museum that used to be the Augustin Zulueta Palace, you'll find a collection of Spanish art from the 1700s to the 1900s. This section shows how art changed from classical and academic styles (which followed strict rules) to more free and emotional romantic styles, and then to the realist movement. You'll see portraits by famous painters like Vicente López Portaña and Federico and Raimundo de Madrazo. There are also landscapes by Carlos de Haes and Aureliano de Beruete, and sketches for murals by Josep Maria Sert. These works are great examples of the art from this period.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Bellas Artes de Álava para niños
