Palacio de Velázquez facts for kids
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The Palacio de Velázquez, also known as Velázquez Palace, is a large building in Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain. It is used as a special place to show art and other cool things.
It was built between 1881 and 1883 for a big mining exhibition. The building was named after its architect, Ricardo Velázquez Bosco. Other important people who worked on it were engineer Alberto Palacio and ceramist Daniel Zuloaga. Today, it is an arts and crafts gallery and is considered a very important cultural building. You can even explore its inside on Google Street View!
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Where is the Velázquez Palace?
The Palacio de Velázquez is right in the middle of Madrid's famous Buen Retiro Park. It sits between the park's big boating lake and a smaller lake near another building called the Palacio de Cristal.
The Buen Retiro Park used to be a private hunting ground for King Felipe IV. Later, it became a fancy royal park. After a big war, most of the old royal palace was taken down. But the park has been open for everyone to enjoy since 1868.
What does the Palace look like?
The Velázquez Palace is a large, beautiful building made of red bricks and tiles. It has a classic style. Its roof is made of iron and glass, which lets lots of natural light shine into the rooms.
It was built from 1881 to 1883. The main goal was to show off new ideas in mining, metalwork, pottery, glass-making, and mineral water. Ricardo Velázquez was the architect, and Alberto Palacio and Daniel Zuloaga helped him.
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The building is about 73 meters long and 28 meters wide. It is one of the biggest buildings designed by Ricardo Velázquez. The bricks and tiles used to build it came from the Royal Factory of La Moncloa.
The Palacio de Velázquez is the only building left from that big mining exhibition. However, about 150 meters away, there is a smaller building also designed by Ricardo Velázquez. This is the Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace). The Palacio de Cristal was built in 1887 for an exhibition about the Philippines. It was used like a giant greenhouse to show tropical plants. Both the Palacio de Velázquez and the Palacio de Cristal were inspired by the famous Crystal Palace in London, especially in how they use iron and glass to make the rooms bright.
What kind of art is shown here?
After the Philippine Exhibition in 1887, the Velázquez Palace became a museum for things from Spain's lands overseas.
Since 1908, it has been a place for important art shows. Many modern artists have shown their work here, like Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Juan Muñoz. The palace was closed for repairs from 2005 to 2010. When it reopened, it had an exhibition by the artist Antoni Miralda.
Today, the Ministry of Culture runs the palace. It is used for special art shows from Spain's national museum of modern art, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
See also
In Spanish: Palacio de Velázquez para niños
