The Royal Collections Gallery opens to the public in the summer of 2023 with an inaugural exhibition of 650 objects.

Madrid, 17th June 2022.- It shall be named the Royal Collections Gallery and it shall be opened by Patrimonio Nacional in the summer of 2023 with an inaugural exhibition of 650 objects. The Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, and the President of the institution, Ana de la Cueva, have confirmed this news on Friday at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Trustees of Patrimonio Nacional, held in the Gallery auditorium and attended by the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, as a member of the Board.

The Minister Félix Bolaños has stated that "Patrimonio Nacional has worked intensively over the last few months to compensate for the paralysis caused by the pandemic in numerous areas. The timetable is well defined and the Gallery will open in the summer of 2023. It is a highly important moment for Spain as it coincides with the start of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, and will serve to add synergies and enhance the international projection of this new museum".

The President of Patrimonio Nacional, Ana de la Cueva, has thanked Minister Bolaños for his “leadership, support and determination” to open the Gallery in this legislature. It will be "an opportunity for Patrimonio Nacional to highlight the quality and diversity of our Royal Collections, of this heritage of all, and also to show how we care for, preserve and protect the wonderful cultural, artistic and natural heritage that we manage".

The Gallery, much more than a museum

The museum of Patrimonio Nacional will be called the “Royal Collections Gallery”. The concept of the “museum” is thus replaced with that of the “gallery”, bringing it closer to the building’s architecture -with its spectacular interior halls and its panoramic view of the iconic landscape of Madrid- without losing the descriptive “Royal Collections”, which points to a brand that has been known for 25 years and which defines the contents of the exhibition.

As of today, the Gallery is well on its way to bring together all 650 objects to be displayed at the inaugural exhibition. The exhibition’s discourse will be one of permanent transformation: one third of the pieces will be continuously rotated. The goal is to demonstrate the extra variety and quality of the Spanish Royal Collections and, at the same time, to be a showcase for all Royal Sites and Royal Monasteries, in addition to the spectacular natural heritage formed by the forests, mountains, historic gardens or orchards.

The Gallery will describe the origins of the Royal Collections and the functions related to the preservation, dissemination and study of Patrimonio Nacional. It was created with the mission to be a focal point of tourist attraction and a centre for cultural and educational dissemination. It shall also encourage a commitment to sustainability. The storerooms, which are a European benchmark, are equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

A tour of the Gallery

After entering the building via the Plaza de la Almudena, the first exhibition hall (Floor -1) commences with the Catholic Kings. The collections of tapestries and the Royal Armoury collections will be in dialogue with works by Bosch, Titian, El Greco, Ribera, Velázquez and Caravaggio, among others. The Royal Monasteries as spaces for women, of power and patronage, shall also play a leading role. This floor provides a privileged view into the origins of Madrid: the 9th-century wall discovered during the construction of the building, which is also described by means of an audiovisual presentation.

Floor -2 begins with maps of the new Royal Palace of Madrid, built by order of Philip V after the fire at the Alcázar, and ends with Tuñón and Mansilla's scale model of the Royal Collections Gallery. Musical instruments, furniture and decorative arts rub shoulders with Mengs, Goya, Tiepolo, Paret and Maella. The last section includes photography and explains how the State assumed the conservation of the Royal Collections and the opening of Royal Sites to the public through Patrimonio Nacional, an organisation created during the Second Republic.

Floor -3 -which may also be accessed from Campo del Moro- may be considered the floor exhibiting the 21st century. It also holds an immersive cube where 360º images of the architectural and natural spaces of different Royal Sites will be displayed. This floor also houses the temporary exhibition hall.