Museum of Arts and Popular Customs of Seville facts for kids
The Museum of Arts and Popular Customs of Seville (also known as Spanish: Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares in Spanish) is a fascinating museum in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It's located inside the lovely María Luisa Park, right across from the Provincial Archeological Museum in Plaza de América. This museum helps you discover the traditional ways of life, art, and customs of the people of Seville and Andalusia.
Contents
History of the Museum Building
The museum is housed in the stunning Mudéjar Pavilion. This building was designed by a famous architect named Aníbal González. It was built in 1914.
The 1929 Exposition
The Mudéjar Pavilion was first used as an art building. It was part of the big Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. Aníbal González also designed other buildings for this important event. The outside of the pavilion is made of ceramic tiles over brick. It has three main doors decorated with colorful glazed tiles called azulejos.
Changes to the Building
The building originally had two floors. The main floor was very tall, more than 12 meters (about 40 feet) high! In the 1960s, this tall main floor was divided. An architect named Delgado Roig added an extra level. Later, in 1972, a grand spiral staircase was added. This staircase connects all the different levels of the building.
Opening the Museum
The museum officially started on March 23, 1972. It first opened its doors to visitors on March 4, 1973. For a few years, the museum faced some challenges. The building was not well taken care of. There were even times when the museum had to close. For example, in 1976, it closed because the electricity bill could not be paid. In 1979, heavy rains caused damage inside.
Restoration and Reopening
In 1980, the City Council agreed to let the Ministry of Education and Science use the whole building. But they had one condition: the Ministry had to fix it up properly. An architect named Fernando Villanueva Sandino led the restoration work. He even turned the old aeration chamber into a new lower-ground floor. The museum reopened on October 18, 1984. At that time, the new Andalusian Autonomous Government took over running the museum.
In 1990, the main floor was set up for temporary art shows. In 1994, a special collection called the Díaz Velázquez Collection found a permanent home there.
What You Can See at the Museum
The museum has three main areas for visitors. These are the lower-ground floor, the main floor, and the first floor. The total space for permanent exhibits is very large, about 5,496 square meters (about 59,158 square feet).
Other Facilities
The top floor of the museum holds the museum library. This library specializes in ethnography (the study of cultures) and museology (the study of museums). There is also a photo archive and rooms for videos and conferences. The museum also has a studio for restoring old items and a photography lab. You can visit the temporary exhibitions separately from the rest of the museum.
Exploring the Exhibits
As of 2010, the museum's exhibits are arranged like this:
- Main Floor
- Halls I–II: Here you can see the Díaz Velázquez collections. These include beautiful embroidery and lace.
- Halls III–V: These halls are used for special temporary exhibitions.
- Halls VI–VII: These areas show what a traditional Díaz Velázquez family home looked like.
- First Floor
- Halls I–II: This section displays clothing, personal items, and religious objects.
- Hall III: You can find musical instruments and popular books here.
- Hall IV: This hall shows how wheat was grown and used.
- Halls V–VI: Learn about goldsmithing and more embroidery.
- Hall VII: This area features traditional fittings and furniture.
- Lower-Ground Floor
- Hall I: See how domestic furniture was used.
- Hall II: Learn about household items.
- Hall III: Discover different types of traditional containers.
- Hall IV: Explore traditional jobs and workshops.
- Hall V: Learn about ceramics and tile-making.
- Hall VI: See ceramics workshops and how ceramics were used by people.
- Hall VII: This hall is about winemaking.
- Hall VIII: Features ceramics from La Cartuja and Japan.
- Hall IX: Displays knives and old firearms.
- Hall X: Shows metalwork.
- Halls XI–XII: Learn about various processing techniques.
This floor also has storage areas, archives, and the restoration studio.
Museum Collections
Most of the items in the museum come from its original collection. When the museum started, it was part of the Museum of Fine Arts. So, many important pieces came from there.
Notable Collections
Some special collections include:
- The Aguiar collection of costumbrista paintings, which show scenes of everyday life.
- The Soria collection of beautiful Oriental porcelain and ivory.
- Pieces from the Orleans and Gestoso collections.
Other museums have also donated items. For example, the Archeological Museum of Seville gave a collection of Sevillian azulejos (glazed tiles). People from Seville have also made important donations. These include textiles, farming tools, household items, and musical instruments.
The Díaz Velázquez Legacy
One of the biggest donations happened in 1979. This was the Díaz Velázquez legacy. It is one of Europe's best collections of embroidery and lace, with almost 6,000 pieces!
Recent Additions
Since the year 2000, the museum has added more interesting items. The Loty collection has over 2,000 glass panels. These panels show details of Andalusian cities and life from about 1900 to 1936. The Allepuz ethnographic collection has 168 pieces that teach us about different cultures.
Specialized Collections
The museum has a growing collection of Andalusian popular ceramics. This collection is one of the best, rivaled only by the collection in Hamburg, Germany. The city also donated the original posters for the annual Seville Fair (Feria de Abril). The Mencos collection in the museum has the most complete set of posters for the Feria and Semana Santa (Holy Week in Seville).
Workshops on Display
The museum has also gained items through fieldwork and research. For example, the workshop of Claudio Bernal, Seville's last cooper (someone who makes barrels), was donated. The workshop of guitarmaker Francisco Barba was also added. You can also see a gilding workshop and the workshops of a master castanets maker and a goldsmith. The goldsmith, Fernando Marmolejo, was the last in a family profession that lasted four centuries! Some of his tools were hundreds of years old. The museum now has eight different workshops on exhibit.
Used as a Film Set
The Mudéjar Pavilion has been used as a setting for movies and TV shows several times. For example, it appeared in the 1974 American film The Wind and the Lion. It was also used in the 1985 French film Harem, where it pretended to be the British Embassy.
See also
In Spanish: Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares (Sevilla) para niños
