Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia: 3,700 Masterpieces and a Botticelli

The Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia, Spain's second-largest painting museum, houses over 3,700 works spanning Gothic to 20th-century art. A temporary Botticelli portrait, 'Ritratto di Michele Marullo Tarquianota', has been on loan since 2021 under a triennial agreement between the Cambó family and the Valencian government. The painting, valued at around €30 million, is notifiable by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and cannot be exported. It was previously shown at the Museo del Prado and the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. Director Pablo González Tornel highlights the museum's Mediterranean spirit, with strong Italian influences from artists like Starnina, Pinturicchio, and Paolo di San Leocadio. A new room dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla opened in late July 2023 for the centenary of his death, featuring 54 works. The museum, located in the historic Colegio Seminario San Pio V since 1946, received over 120,000 visitors in the first half of 2023. It operates on a €7 million annual public budget, with free admission but no café or bookshop.