Madrid’s status as one of Europe’s art capitals hails from the big three – the Prado, the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, but what of the smaller galleries? While these museums are undoubtedly spectacular and have earned their statuses as some of the world’s best, no art lover’s extended stay to the city should exclude the smaller, lesser-known galleries.

Museo Lázaro Galdiano

The Museo Lázaro Galdiano is one of Madrid’s most underrated art museums. Located in the beautiful neo-renaissance palace on Serrano Street, it houses the former private collection that had once belonged to José Lázaro Galdiano, a well-known collector and respected bibliophile.

José Lázaro, ca. 1945

Francisco de Goya, El Aquelarre - Witches Sabbath, 1797-98

Lázaro earned his title as “one of the greatest patrons of culture in 19th century Spain,” and by the end of his life, he not only owned one of the most prestigious art collections in Spain, but had also founded the magazine “La España Moderna” and established a publishing company under the same name. His reputation as a bibliophile came from his other collecting passion—rare and beautiful antique books. Lázaro’s legacy included an astounding library filled with works by Goya, masterpieces such as “Hypnerotomachia Poliphili” by Francesco Colonna, “The Polyglot Bible” by Cisneros and some extraordinary examples of Medieval Codices. A selection of these wonderful books is on display in the temporary exhibition, “The time of the Nativity in the Books of Hours at the Lázaro Galdiano Foundation,” which will run until the 6th of February.    

The Annunciation to the Shepherds, from the Book of Hours, Maestro de Dreux Budé (André D'Ypres)
Paris ca. 1450

While access to the library is limited, the art collection is on public display in Lázaro’s former home on Calle Serrano. This palatial residence catches your eye even from across the street, and calls you into its garden: Parque Florido, named after Lázaro’s Argentinean wife, Paula Florido.

The Julius Caesar Tazza, ca. 1570-80

The art collection itself is divided amongst the rooms and floors of the palace; the ground floor is an eclectic mix, covering art from a wide range of eras and countries, giving us a feel for the Lázaro collection. The fine and decorative arts are displayed together, where paintings are hung alongside rare artefacts, like the “Julius Caesar Tazza” from the latter half of the 16th century, and once had belonged to Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini. This dish, adorned with the standing figure of the Roman Caesar on top, was once part of a series of 12, where each Tazza represented the 12 Caesars from Suetonius.  

Tartesic Ewer, 6th century BC

Numerous works of iconographical and symbolic content, of splendid quality, are found in Lázaro’s collection of Spanish painting, and here on the ground floor we can see his love for portraiture emerge.  Here, portraits of Lope de Vega and Góngora adorn the walls, only a few metres from Renaissance panels and archaeological artefacts, such as the bronze ewer dating back to the 6th century BC from the ancient port city of Tartassos, now located in Andalucía.

The “Treasure Chamber” is a stunning display of the precious gold and jewelled items housed in the collection, where the Ceremonial Sword, presented to the second Count of Tendilla by the Pope Innocent VIII in the 15th century is the highlight. The treasures are displayed chronologically: from the gold of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans, through to Visigoth and Byzantine, and concluding with the jewels of Paula Florido, Lázaro’s wife.

Museum interior, 1st floor

The ground floor offers a glimpse into the collection of European art brought to Spain by Lázaro, showcasing extraordinary and rare pieces seldom seen in private Spanish collections.

Turning a corner, the 15th century stained glass window depicting St. Michael Weighing Souls, by Antonio da Pandino, grabs your attention. Hung beside it, there are interesting works sampled from Lázaro’s collection of English paintings, a school rarely found in Spain, such as “The Portrait of Lady Sondes” by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Michelangelo Naccherino, Christ at the Column,  1603

One of the highlights, for me, is the moving marble statue of “Christ at the Column” by the Neapolitan sculptor, Michelangelo Naccerino.  This life-sized baroque sculpture carved out of white marble contours the details of Christ’s body most delicately, drawing your eye to the emotive expression of his face.

After being introduced to the museum and the collection, we continue our tour upstairs. The rest is not only displayed in chronological order, but is categorised into schools, and the focus on the first floor is on Spanish art.

One of Lázaro’s passions was chronicling the history of Spanish art. He wanted to preserve an art collection that could be used as a reference for the study of Spanish art history.

The first floor of the museum is set in the former ceremonial rooms of Lázaro’s family, where their guests would been greeted, have dined and even danced. The rooms retain their former splendour, with frescoed ceilings and marbled panels and gold leaf detailing the borders.

Blasco de Grañen, Virgin of Mosén Esperandeu de Santa Fe, 1438-39

One of Lázaro’s great artistic loves was for 15th and 16th century panel painting, and from these excellent gothic and early renaissance examples, it’s easy to see why. The paintings from the traditional Aragonese School follow a gothic style: where figures are hierarchically positioned and the faces of the saints are idealised. Perspective, as seen from the Renaissance onwards, is missing in these early paintings; instead plain, golden backgrounds dominate, making the figures central to the painting. The 15th century panel painting by Blasco de Grañen, “Virgin of Mosén Esperandeu de Santa Fe” is an excellent example.  

Domenicos Theotocopulos "El Greco", Saint Francis of Assisi, 1577-80

The Golden Age of Spanish art, from the 16th and 17th centuries is well represented— here we see some impressive canvasses by Ribera, El Greco and even early Velázquez. “Saint Francis of Assisi” by Domenicos Theotocopulos, more commonly known as El Greco, is an intimate depiction of the saint. The perfection of his face, hands and skull are painted in the trademark proto-expressionist style and combined with loose brush strokes, but it’s the emotional overpowering through the expressive eyes of St. Francis that hook us into this painting.

However, the undisputed stars of the first floor are the paintings and cartoons by Francisco de Goya. There are six small canvases, universally acclaimed by critics, but in addition to these, two additional paintings have also been recently reattributed to the painter, disproving old critics who had disputed Goya’s authorship.

The most notable Goyas from the collection are undoubtedly “The Witches” and the “Witches Sabbath,” while these canvases are small in size; they capture the sinister atmosphere of their subject with the artist’s dark palette and attention to gritty detail. On first glance, the loose brush strokes lull us into a false sense of security before one can see in the line of baby corpses haunting the background or the emaciated children offered as sacrifice. In their masterful and extravagant execution, these paintings capture conflicting elements of both fear and irony, whose quality put them on par with the Goyas displayed in the Prado Museum.  

The second floor catalogues the European schools found in the collection. It spans over five centuries and covers not only painting, but also sculpture and the decorative arts. Lázaro’s inclusion of the Flemish and Italian schools complement the collection, since their influence can be directly attributed to the history of Spanish art.

Attrib: Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, The Young Christ, 1490-95

One of the most notable pieces is a small portrait, dating back to the late 15th century of “The Young Christ.” Once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci by Spanish critics; eventually art experts concluded that the painting was actually from the Lombard School, whose authorship is now attributed to one of da Vinci’s best students, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio. This panel is believed to be based on one of da Vinci’s own designs, and was also held in great esteem due to the gilding on the reverse side of the panel. The painting is currently on display in the National Gallery of London at the current Leonardo da Vinci exhibition.

Hieronymus Bosch, Saint John in the Desert, late 15th century

Another gem found in Lázaro’s collection is displayed among the early Flemish panels. “Saint John the Baptist in the Desert,” by Hieronymus Bosch is the highlight of the museum’s collection. Here we see St. John in a surreal landscape, with trees seen far into the distance. In the foreground, on the bottom right hand side is a lamb, pointed to by the saint, symbolising the road to salvation. What is interesting about this painting is the plant besides St. John. It takes on the appearance of a deformed pomegranate, interpreted as a symbol for earthly pleasures, but upon closer inspection—the pomegranate hides a face. Originally, the patron was to appear in the painting, however after a dispute with Bosch, the artist painted the patron out, distorting him into a surreal shrubbery.

The collection continues on the third floor; where we can explore the armoury, antique bronzes and stonework, and most notably, Lázaro’s exquisite collection of textiles.

In conclusion, while this small-scale museum dwarfs in quantity when compared to Madrid’s big three, it definitely compares in quality: housing pieces not only of great aesthetic value, but significant both for history and art history. If you love art then I can highly recommend the Lázaro Galdiano museum.  

I would like to give special thanks to Carlos Saguar Quer, for giving me a personal tour round the museum and for teaching me not only about the collection, but also about José Lázaro Galdiano as well, and for all his help and cooperation with this article.


References:

1. A Brief Guide to the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, L. Arbeteta, C. Espinosa, A. López, C. Saguar, C. Sánchez and J.A. Yeves, Fundación Lázaro Galdiano (2011)
2. Goya – Revista de Arte 261 (1997)
3. La Fundación Lázaro Galdiano. El legado de un gran coleccionista y mecenas, C. Saguar, Museos y Mecenazgo. Nuevas aportaciones, Madrid 2009, pp. 134-139
4. C. Saguar – private communication (2011)
5. R. Hilton, Hispania Vol. 23 no. 4 (1940) 319