Madrid will host the Royal Collections Gallery, a unique museum in Europe
It is the most important European cultural project of the year 14 June, 2023On 29 June, Madrid will open the most important museum project undertaken in Spain in decades which aims to become a cultural and tourist attraction in the capital and beyond. One month later, on 25 July, Their Majesties the King and Queen will inaugurate the Royal Collections Gallery next to the Royal Palace. One of the aims of this initiative is to consolidate Madrid as a leading cultural tourism destination, also encouraging visits to the Royal Sites and Royal Monasteries managed by National Heritage in the Region of Madrid.
The Royal Collections Gallery is located in a strategic enclave in Madrid as a showcase for other Royal Sites, but also to show citizens the artistic and historical value of the Royal Collections, the result of the patronage of the Spanish kings throughout history.
These pieces come from the private collections that the Spanish monarchs have been amassing since the 15th century, also a symbol of the artistic taste of each of them. The works, preserved by National Heritage, are also the result both of collecting and of a utilitarian vocation rooted in economic wealth, as well as being exponents of the image of Royal power.
So visitors will be able to discover the rich legacy derived from the patronage of the Spanish monarchy over five centuries -in short, the heritage of all-, discovering the history of Spain in a unique and comprehensive experience to be enjoyed in one of the most important cultural areas in Europe and the world, whose development has been carried out over the last 25 years.
Set in an area with a similar size to the Vatican City, the Gallery is located in a privileged setting, in the monumental complex of the Royal Palace of Madrid, next to the Plaza de la Armería and the Almudena Cathedral and open to the wide viewpoint over the Campo del Moro, with spectacular views of the city, the Casa de Campo and the Sierra. An exceptional area in the heart of the capital’s historic centre, which enriches its cultural offer to visitors and residents alike.
The most modern architecture in the city’s oldest enclave
The Royal Collections Gallery building is carved into the rock and was designed with two premises in mind: to form part of the natural-artificial landscape of Madrid's western cornice and to preserve the public and open character of the Plaza de la Almudena.
Luis M. Mansilla and Emilio Tuñón were in charge of the architectural project, which blends in perfectly with its surroundings; a contemporary, sober and simple work but which at the same time is a real architectural feat whereby maximum energy saving has been prioritised, and with an interior that surprises us with its spaciousness, natural light and views of the landscape outside.
Proof of this is that to date it has already received 10 important architectural awards, including the first prize of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM 2016), the FAD architecture award in 2017 and the American Architecture Prize (AAP 2017).
The building has a surface area of more than 40,000 square metres, of which 8,000 will be for public use. Its three exhibition halls are large open-plan halls 120 metres long by 16 metres wide, generated by a succession of concrete porticoes.
As well as having all the areas and services necessary for the public’s attention and enjoyment, the building has areas to manage and conserve its cultural assets: storerooms equipped with high-capacity furniture, a loading dock for receiving works of art and a multi-purpose room for preventive conservation.
A walk through the history of European culture
The main entrance to the Gallery is located on the cornice of the Plaza de la Armería. From this entrance, visitors will begin a descending route through three exhibition levels in chronological order, via wide ramps where various audiovisual resources will be shown to contextualise the collections to be discovered.
The archaeological room is on floor -1, a privileged window onto the origins of Madrid, as it contains the remains of the 9th century Arab wall found during the construction of the building, which is of great historical importance because it includes the gateway that gave access to the city. An audiovisual presentation will show the history of that first Madrid and its evolution up to the present day.
On the same floor, dedicated to the Habsburgs, we see the collections of tapestries and the Royal Armoury with works by Bosch, Titian, El Greco, Ribera, Velázquez and Caravaggio. The construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial occupies a prominent place, as well as the founding of the Royal Monasteries, female areas par excellence and symbols of power and patronage.
The itinerary on floor -2, dedicated to the Bourbons, begins with the plans of the new Royal Palace, built by order of Philip V after the fire at the Alcázar and ends with the model of the Royal Collections Gallery, as the epilogue to the great monumental and museum complex of the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Themes such as music, the Royal Factories and manufactories or the construction of the Royal Palace of La Granja, represented through decorative arts, tapestries, musical instruments and furniture, will coexist alongside works by Mengs, Goya, Tiepolo, Paret and Maella. The end of the tour explains to visitors the function and role of National Heritage, responsible, (among other functions) for the conservation and dissemination of the Royal Sites and the Royal Collections.
Floor -3, accessible from the Campo del Moro, is designed as a more dynamic exhibition space. As well as the temporary exhibition hall, it houses a large immersive cube that will serve as a 360-degree projection of architectural and natural areas of the Royal Sites.
All in all, a project which reunites 650 paintings, tapestries, armour, carriages, etc., by leading artists, painters, sculptors, engravers, tapestry makers and craftsmen, in an avant-garde building. A building which reinforces the cultural and heritage attraction of its area, next to the Royal Palace of Madrid with its Royal Armoury and Royal Kitchens but also very close to the historic garden of Campo del Moro, the Royal Monastery of the Encarnación, the Monastery of the Descalzas Reales and the hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida.