Masaveu Foundation Opens New Madrid Space with 19th-Century Spanish Painting

The Fundación Maria Cristina Masaveu Peterson has inaugurated a new headquarters in Madrid, dedicated to showcasing over 100 works from the Masaveu Collection, spanning from Goya to Catalan post-modernism. The space, located near Plaza Colón and the Paseo del Prado, will be open throughout 2020. Many of the works have never been publicly exhibited before. The selection was curated by Javier Barón, chief curator of the Museo del Prado and a leading expert on 19th-century Spanish art. The collection includes neoclassical, romantic, realist, impressionist, and modernist painters, both renowned and lesser-known. The Masaveu family, of Catalan origin and based in Oviedo, has a long history of art patronage, often repatriating Spanish cultural heritage from international auctions. The new venue is a neoclassical building from the 1920s, originally a hotel, renovated to preserve its facade and layout. It spans over 2,000 square meters, with about twenty exhibition rooms and an auditorium for 150 people. Raw concrete and tropical blond wood finishes reflect the family's industrial background. Two site-specific works were commissioned: Jaume Plensa's 'Silencio' (2018), a white polyester resin sculpture of a girl's face, and Blanca Muñoz's 'Altiva' (2019), a perforated stainless steel structure suspended in the entrance hall. The exhibition 'Collezione Masaveu. La pittura spagnola del secolo XIX' runs until December 31, 2020, with free admission.