Collector’s Soul

(Image: C.del Rosso)

The Lázaro Galdiano Museum is one of many must-see museums in Madrid. You just need to shift a bit from the path Reina Sofía-Prado-Thyssen and it’s not a small museum: you will spend some time there.

Goya, El aquelarre, 1798

José Lázaro Galdiano (1862-1947) was a very wise man, with various interests (he was an editor, bibliophilic, collector by devotion) and had a huge fortune that let him set an enormous and coherent art collection. The Museum is located in what used to be his private housing, a 4 story palace built in 1908. In 1947 he donated the whole collection to the Spanish Government. The palace was opened to the wide public as conditioned museum in 1951.

(Image: C.del Rosso)

The environments are not furnished as originarily, as it happens in Sorolla or Romanticismo Museums. The rooms were reimagined as exhibition halls, and in each of them we find information and pictures of the original decoration. But this is nothing to miss, since we can’t claim there are furniture seats missing next to the sculptures and paintings. Moreover, the palace perfectly transmits an idea of how don José and doña Paula lived through its doors, columns, cornices and the paintings on its ceilings, painted by Eugenio Lucas Villamil.

It’s almost impossible to tell you all you can find inside. The collection has over 12600 pieces, of which only a third is shown (we are not counting the 20000 books in the library). Really, Lázaro Galdiano had the soul of a collector!

Teniers,  The archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his gallery in Brussels, 1647

In the ground floor you find a semblance of the owner through the objects, from codices or manuscripts to jewels, watches, ivory chests or paintings. Teniers’ “Erzherzog Leopold Whilhelm in his Gallery in Brussels” is almost an allegory of Galdiano.

Zurbarán, San Diego de
Alcalá, XVII c.

You can go upstairs, but I’d recommend using the elevator: it’s the original one, it works perfectly and it feels like time-travelling… The first floor is dedicated to Spanish art. 

Velázquez, Head of a girl,
1620

Lázaro Galdiano admired Goya and so you’ll find significant works. He did not only buy paintings, but also engravings, sketches and 5 of his letters. There are also artworks by Zurbarán, Velázquez, El Greco, Ribera, Carreño de Miranda, Coello... The portrait of XVIII and XIX is well represented by F. de Madrazo, Paret, Esquivel, Sala, Bécquer, V. López, etc.

Constable, Road from Bergholt to Flatford, 1812

If we keep going up, we’ll find ourselves with European art. Here’s where you have to come to get a taste of English art (there is almost nothing in the rest of museums for, you know, historical reasons): Constable, Reynolds, Lely… you will see “The Young Saviour” which was by Leonardo for some time, but nowadays is considered done by one of his disciples, probably Boltraffio. There are many other paintings from Italy, France, Flanders, Germany… To cite some: H. Bosch, Cranach… I’m really fascinated by the still lives by Roepel. The cabinet of miniatures is also impressive: hundreds of little paintings, portraits and landscapes.

Roepel, Still life with fruits, 1720

In the last floor there are no more paintings, but you can’t skip visiting it! There lives the collection of weapons, Oriental and Italian clothes, ceramics, bronzes, enamels, coins, medals… What is not exhibited is kept in drawers that you can open if you are interested in digging more in this topic.

For some years now, the Museum opted to mix Contemporary artworks that dialogue with the ones in the collection: you will see the interpretations of José María Ballester or Sjon Brand’s “Artilugios bosquianos”.

It’s a museum to visit once and return one another time. Even if it’s not small, you will not notice: there are couches everywhere to rest and the keepers will make you feel like home with their amiability, and, of course, resting in the gardens is a great pleasure!

(Image: C.del Rosso)

In memory of Ángel  Luis González†,

for this long conversations about this museum

and so many others of Madrid.

 Sources:

Museum's web;

Fundación Lázaro Galdiano. Guía breve del Museo Lázaro Galdiano. 

Madrid, Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, 2015

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