The Fundación Mapfre Recoletos, is a space where different artistic discipline works are exhibited, mainly painting and photography. It was designed to house plastic arts exhibitions, most of them by Spanish artists but without forgetting the artistic trends of other countries and cultures. As it is located in the very centre of Madrid (in 23, Paseo de Recoletos), as the years go by it has grown in popularity among consumers of art. It is increasingly visited in spite of the great cultural and museum offer in Madrid. A stunning and stately building dating XIX century houses this foundation. It is a good example of one of the small palaces that still stands in Madrid. Precisely because of this we have chosen it for our section Restoring is Living, because if it had not been conscientiously restored this beautiful building that houses Fundación Mapfre Recoletos would have been lost forever. Our last article in this section was about Palacio de Cristal. Today, we will write about Fundación Mapfre Recoletos and we will see the importance of recovering spaces, which have fallen into disuse, by means of restoration.

A THOUSAND SQUARE METRES DEDICATED TO ART

The Fundación Mapfre Recoletos building was constructed between the years 1881 and 1884 by order of the Duchess of Medina de las Torres. It was designed by the architect Agustín Ortiz de Villajos. Unfortunately, as it usually happens when a building does not undergo adequate restoration over the years, it fell into disrepair. Several building works had to be carried out in order to renovate it and give it a second life. The foundation, completely restored, opened its doors to the public in 2008. Currently, it has a useful space of a thousand square metres divided into three halls ( in the basement, on the ground floor and on the first floor). The foundation has an assembly hall where cultural activities, related to its programme, are held as well as courses and conferences. On the ground floor, there is a library specialized in art. Most of the programmed exhibitions are related to plastic arts which were carried out between the end of the XIX century and the end of the Second World War. Apart from these temporary exhibitions, the permanent collection is exclusively dedicated to the Catalonian painter Joan Miró.

THE UNIVERSE OF MIRO IN ONE HALL

For Joan Miró lovers, the Fundación Mapfre Recoletos is a must-see, as its permanent collection is wholly dedicated to him. Here, we can enjoy 65 of the works painted by one of the most influential Spanish artists of this last century. Apart from these paintings, we can also see five moving works of art by the artist Alexander Calder, a very close friend of Miró, who more than once, worked with him in some of his creations.

DID YOU KNOW THAT…?

Every Tuesday, the Fundación Mapfre Recoletos organizes what is called Martes Miró, where specialized personnel offer detailed information about the permanent collection. There is more information on the official web page of the foundation.

Picture 01: Luis García

Picture 02: Mario RM

Picture 03: Triplecaña