2328 REALES DE VELLÓN

The Banco de España inaugurates a new permanent exhibition space with a show on the origins of its collection linked to Goya. The exhibition hall is located in the corner section of its Cibeles headquarters, on Madrid's 'Paseo del Arte'. Over the coming years, it will host a series of temporary exhibitions with which the bank hopes to showcase the valuable set of artworks and documents it has built up over its long history.

The first exhibition to be staged in the new hall, 2328 Reales de Vellón. Goya and the Origins of the Banco de España Collection, explores the formation of the collection between 1782 — when the Banco de San Carlos was founded — and the early years of the Banco de España, which emerged under its current name in 1856, following the merger of the Banco de San Fernando and the Banco de Isabel II. It also examines the way in which those early beginnings conditioned the subsequent development of the collection.

This exceptional set of works forms the central core of the Banco de España Collection and has not been on public display since 1982. This is therefore a unique opportunity for the public to learn more about the origins of this remarkable collection, one of the most important in Spain and amongst central banks more widely.

The exhibition analyses the role played by the Banco de España's forerunners in creating the collection. As well as the magnificent collection of paintings commissioned or acquired during the period, it also includes documents, books, printed matter and banknotes from the bank's historical archive and library. In addition to the gallery of portraits of the bank's managers and governors, members of the royal family and other figures linked to the bank's history, there are also items from its collection of decorative items, including clocks, furniture and silverwork.

Together, they illustrate the significance the Banco de España has always placed on promotion of the arts and patronage as an instrument for fostering creativity. The collection includes masterpieces by some of the leading artists of each period, including Goya, Mariano Salvador Maella, Vicente López and Federico de Madrazo.

The exhibition 2328 Reales de Vellón will open to the public on 14 October. A 'real de vellón' was a coin valued at a quarter of a peseta and the show's title is a reference to the fee paid to Goya for the first portrait he painted for the bank. The ledger from the period recording the commission is also on display for the first time. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am – 2 pm and 4 pm – 8 pm. Admission is free, although prior online reservation is required.

Artists: Cornelis van Cleve, Mariano Salvador Maella, Giacomo Zoffoli, Francisco de Goya, Pietro Melchiorre Ferrari, Francisco Folch de Cardona, Bartolomé Maura y Montaner, Zacarías González Velázquez, Antonio María Esquivel, Vicente López Portaña, Federico de Madrazo, José Gutiérrez de la Vega y Bocanegra, Benito Soriano Murillo.