Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias

Latitude: 43.3617249 Length: -5.8436432
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Opened in 1980 and dependent on the Principality, the museum occupies two historic buildings in Oviedo : the sumptuous Velarde Palace, one of the most important in Asturias , was built in 1767 by the great Asturian architect Manuel Reguera González for D. Pedro Velarde Calderón y Prada, councilor of the city of Oviedo, and the Casa-Palacio built in 1860 by D. Fernando de Oviedo-Portal.

The palace courtyard features large-format works by Asturian and Spanish painters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries . A striking piece in this collection is the large canvas "After a Strike" by the Asturian artist José Uría, an important work with social themes. One of the rooms adjoining the courtyard is dedicated entirely to the Asturian painter José Ramón Zaragoza. There, one can admire the enormous triptych "Myth of Prometheus," a work belonging to the Post-Impressionist movement.

This lower level also houses the museum's temporary exhibition hall and a visitor lounge. Through this lounge, visitors can access the garden, a space open to the public where a small collection of contemporary sculptures is displayed.

Works until the 19th century

The first floor of the palace permanently displays works ranging from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

A space has been set aside for the exhibition of Flemish Renaissance works . The highlight here is the splendid Triptych of D. Alvaro de Carreño, by the Master of the Legend of Mary Magdalene, datable to around 1520. Other important panels are by the Master of the Female Half-Figures, Jan Van Dornicke, Ambrosius Benson, and Marcellus Coffermans.

The "Altarpiece of the Santos Juanes", of the Master of Cubells, of Catalan school, and the "Altarpiece of the Virgin" and saints, of the Mallorcan Rafael Moger. Next to these, today outstanding pieces of the Spanish-Flemish world made by Jaime Huguet, a culminating figure of the style in the Catalan field and Fernando Gallego, the most characteristic painter of the trend in the Castilian-Leon kingdom.

The exhibition continues with significant Baroque examples by Rubens and a superb "Vase of Flower" by Jan Brueghel the Elder.

The galleries of the courtyard house works from the 17th and 18th centuries by Spanish and European schools . Particularly captivating are two pairs of vases by Arellano and Yepes, from the mid-15th century, and the paintings by Miguel Jacinto Meléndez, from Oviedo, painter to King Philip V and an excellent epilogue to the Madrid Baroque school. Among his works on display are two royal portraits, the superb Portrait of the Marquis of Vadillo, and an Immaculate Conception. This painter's nephew, Luis Meléndez, a key figure in 18th-century Spanish painting, is represented by an impressive group of seven still lifes and a portrait.

Works by Asturian painters

The central palace on the second floor, featuring a beautiful gallery opening onto the courtyard, houses a selection of works by two of Asturias' most celebrated and popular painters: Evaristo Valle and Nicanor Piñole . Both produced their finest work in the first half of the 20th century. Their representation in the Museum, astonishingly rich in both number and quality, includes 36 oil paintings, two watercolors, and one drawing by Valle, and 36 oil paintings and 39 works on paper by Piñole, including drawings, watercolors, and pastels. Valle's work, linked to the Post-Impressionist movement, offers, through his great mastery, an original worldview of the people and land of Asturias. Piñole , an academically trained artist, was one of the painters who, along with Valle, contributed to the modernization of Asturian art.

Works of the 19th century

There is also a fine selection of 19th-century Valencian painting , notably enriched by the addition of nine oil paintings by Joaquín Sorolla , some of exceptional quality, such as "Transporting Grapes" and "Running on the Beach." Ignacio Pinazo, Navarro Llorens, and Jose Mongrell are also represented. And there is a selection of works linked to Spanish Modernism . Among the highlights are the impressive "Peasants of Gandía" by Anglada Camarasa, the "Self-Portrait" by Darío de Regoyos from Ribadesella, and works by Casas, Santiago Rusiñol, Ricardo Baroja, Sotomayor, Manuel Benedito, Eduardo Chicharro, Julio Romero de Torres, and Joaquín Mir.

Also noteworthy is the splendid collection of glass and earthenware, with more than 2.500 pieces . Virtually all Spanish factories from the 19th and 20th centuries are represented, in addition to potteries from Germany, Belgium, France, England, and Portugal.

Museum Day Agenda

If you want to stay up to date with the events organised on Museum Day, you can find all the latest information here.