Royal Collections Gallery

The Royal Collections Gallery (Spanish: Galería de las Colecciones Reales), originally named Royal Collections Museum,[2][3] is an art museum in Madrid. Dependent on the Spanish state agency Patrimonio Nacional, it is located in a new building above the gardens of the Campo del Moro park and next to the Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

Royal Collections Gallery
Galería de las Colecciones Reales
EstablishedJune 28, 2023 (2023-06-28)
LocationCuesta de la Vega, Madrid
Coordinates40.4156°N 3.7156°W / 40.4156; -3.7156
TypeArt museum
Collection size155.000 artworks[1]
ArchitectEmilio Tuñón and Luis Moreno Mansilla
OwnerPatrimonio Nacional
Public transit accessÓpera
Websitewww.galeriadelascoleccionesreales.es

It is intended for public exhibition and safekeeping of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, luxury objects, carriages and other works of art and historical pieces that different kings of Spain were treasuring throughout history.

History

The origin of the museum dates back to the 1930s, when a first project began in 1935[4] and the Foundation Decree of the Museum of Arms and Carriages was issued in 1936 by the government of the Second Republic, when the president was Manuel Azaña.[5] The start of the Civil War paralyzed the project, which was resumed, although not materialized, in 1950 and 1980.[4]

National Heritage (Patrimonio Nacional) again raised the idea of building the museum in 1998, reviving the idea of creating a new carriage museum but also exhibiting the works of art, jewelry and tapestries of the dynasties that reigned in Spain in recent centuries, the Habsburgs and the Bourbons.

In 2002, the project presented by the architects Emilio Tuñón and Luis Moreno Mansilla (Mansilla + Tuñón) won the ideas contest for the building, and finally construction started in 2006.[6] The works suffered delays due to the discovery of archaeological remains of the 9th-century Muslim settlement in its location.[7] In addition the central government had to increase considerably the budget destined initially to the project.[8]

The main façade is finished in granite of the Gris Quintana type. This uses stones of great dimensions that had to be emptied on the interior sides to cover the structure of reinforced concrete. The placement of these large pieces was a very complex task, for which a custom-made tool had to be created, which translated into a laying of the first stone as a decisive act. In the same granite were made solid steps, rain gutters, large caps and bespoke tops.

The construction of the building was completed in 2016, but because of the caretaker status of the government after the 2016 general election, it could not sign the contract of an extra 25 million to finish the interior of the building, and the opening was announced for 2020.[9]

In October 2018, after a year of delays, a temporal cooperation of Empty, specialized in museography, and telecommunications company Telefónica won the public contest for the interior design and presentation of the museum and its collections.[10]

In June 2022, the minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, and the chairwoman of Patrimonio Nacional, Ana de la Cueva, announced that the museum would be opened in summer 2023 and renamed as Royal Collections Gallery.[3][2] It opened on June 28, 2023.[11]

Awards

The museum building received two main awards:

  • The Spanish Architecture Award 2017.[12]
  • The FAD Awards for Architecture and Interior Design 2017.[13]

See also

References
  1. "Museo Colecciones Reales: un "tour" de 15 siglos de historia a partir de 2020" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  2. "El Museo de Colecciones Reales se llamará Galería de las Colecciones Reales y se inaugurará en verano de 2023". Europa Press. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  3. "El Museo de Colecciones Reales se abrirá al fin en el verano de 2023 y bajo un nuevo nombre". El Español (in Spanish). 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  4. Nogueira, Charo (12 December 2010). "Una fachada más en La Cornisa". El País. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  5. Serrano, María Isabel (29 July 2012). "El guardián de las joyas de la Corona". ABC. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. Gutiérrez, Vera (13 January 2006). "Ruiz-Gallardón da luz verde al futuro Museo de Colecciones Reales" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. Nogueira, Charo (29 December 2010). "Mil años de historia de la ciudad bajo el Museo de Colecciones Reales" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  8. Nogueira, Charo (17 December 2010). "The Museum of Royal Collections almost triples its initial budget" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. Villalba, Enrique (17 October 2016). "El Museo de Colecciones Reales se retrasa a 2020" (in Spanish). Madriddiario. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. H. Riaño, Peio (4 October 2018). "Patrimonio Nacional desbloquea el Museo de las Colecciones Reales" (in Spanish). El País. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  11. Green, Dominic, "Royal Collections Gallery Review: Palace of the Spanish Past", The Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2023
  12. "2017 Spanish Architecture Prize, ex-aequo, for, The Museum of Royal Collections and the Palace of Congresses and Hotel in Palma". metalocus.es. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  13. "El Museo de las Colecciones Reales de Madrid gana el FAD de arquitectura" (in Spanish). El País. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
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