Valeriano D. Bécquer's Costumbrista Paintings United at Prado

The Museo del Prado in Madrid has opened a focused exhibition titled “Valeriano D. Bécquer (1834-1870): Los cuadros de costumbres” within its ongoing “Almacén abierto” program in Room 60. For the first time, the museum brings together all eight paintings that Domínguez Bécquer created between 1866 and 1867 for the former Museo de la Trinidad. After that institution dissolved in 1872, the works were dispersed among various collections before eventually entering the Prado. The exhibition runs until October 4, 2026. Bécquer, brother of poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, executed the series as a commission documenting Spanish regional customs. He delivered three batches, each tied to a different province: five works from Zaragoza and Soria in 1866, and three from Ávila in 1867. The paintings depict scenes such as interiors, festivals, laborers, and pilgrims, with a focus on traditional dress and local rituals. The show also includes original documentation and extracts of Bécquer's own descriptions. Many of his preparatory drawings, some lost or surviving only as photographs, were reproduced as engravings in periodicals, spreading his work beyond the canvases. The exhibition follows previous monographic displays at the Prado devoted to 19th-century artists like Aureliano de Beruete, Miguel Blay, and Joaquín Sorolla.