News
'2328 reales de vellón' exhibition ends, having attracted over 46,000 visitors
Saturday 30 April was the final day of the exhibition 2328 reales de vellón, which looked at the origins of the Banco de España's art collection. Covering a period of more than 80 years from 1782, when the Banco Nacional de San Carlos was founded, to the early years following the foundation of the Banco de España as such in 1856 via the merger of the Banco de San Fernando and the Banco de Isabel II, the exhibition highlighted how its early links to Goya conditioned the development and future of the collection.
Together with a gallery of portraits of directors, governors, royalty and other personages linked with the history of the Bank, the exhibition also featured decorative objects from our collection, including clocks, furniture and silverware. It provided an opportunity for people to see core pieces from our classical collection, and stressed the importance that the Bank has placed on encouraging the arts and using patronage as a way of sustaining and driving creativity ever since its founding in the late 18th century.
Francisco de Goya, Mariano Salvador Maella, Vicente López Portaña, Antonio María Esquivel and Federico de Madrazo are just some of the artists whose works were shown in the exhibition. Also featured were a wealth of documents (certificates, shares, minutes, reports) from the Historical Archives and the Library of the Banco de España. These documents not only bear witness to the history of the bank but also enable visitors to explore in more depth the social and cultural context in which it was created and commenced its operations.
View of the venue for the exhibition 2328 reales de vellón. Photo by Fernando Maquieira
Over its six-and-a-half-month run beginning on 14 October 2021, 2328 reales de vellón received 46,346 visitors, an average of over 7000 per month, even against the background of the restrictions arising from the pandemic. Evidence of the success of the exhibition can be found in the fact that it was extended for another two months after its envisaged closing date, and that the flow of visitors did not drop off during that time. Most visitors were Spanish, but around 8% were from elsewhere, especially in the last few months as the number of tourists arriving in Madrid increased. This reflects a growing interest in the Banco de España Collection at international level. The programme of guided tours of the exhibition also proved very popular, attracting a total of 1886 people.
The actual exhibition also featured a sort of virtual extension via the Bank's online heritage portal, where visitors could find free downloads of the catalogueof the exhibition and the handbook(plus an abridged version prepared prior to the opening). While the exhibition was open to the public, several pieces of specific online content were also produced. These ranged from news items about its opening and extension to outlines of key figures in the history of the Bank, such as Francisco de Cabarrús and Ramón de Santillán. There were also in-depth presentations of certain specific works on show, such as the bust of King Charles III by Giacomo Zoffoli and the painting of St. Charles Borromeo by Mariano Salvador Maella. Other articles explain fundamental but little-known facts about the history of the collection, such as the role played by Francisco Belda y Pérez de Nueros in rescuing the forgotten Goyas in the Banco de España Collection.
Covers of the catalogue, the handbook and the online presentation of the exhibition 2328 reales de vellón
2328 reales de vellón. Goya and the origins of the Banco de España Collection is the first exhibition staged at the new permanent exhibition hall opened by the Bank at its building on the corner of Plaza de Cibeles. In the coming years this venue will host a number of temporary exhibitions curated from different viewpoints that will present various selections from the bank's artistic and documentary heritage collection, built up over its long history. Work is now under way on the next event, which is scheduled to open in mid October.
Before that, we are working with the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) to organise an exhibition entitled (Un)common Values. Two Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art. It will feature a broad selection of contemporary art works from the collections of the two banks. This exhibition is being staged to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of the NBB's art collection. It is open from 21 May to 18 September at the bank's exhibition venue on the former trading floor at its headquarters in Brussels.