The Academy presents a selection of twenty masterpieces from its collection, restored within the framework of the collaboration program with the Callia Foundation. These paintings on canvas and panel—by prominent Italian, Flemish, and Spanish artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries—have regained their full splendor and meaning.
Heritage and Conservation History
The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando safeguards a valuable artistic heritage, assuming the fundamental objective of preserving, studying, and disseminating these holdings under the best possible conditions.
In the past, restorations were executed by artists who worked on the pieces based on subjective criteria and artisanal techniques. However, starting in the 1960s, restoration began to develop as a scientific and technical discipline. This shift established rigorous methods that respected the physical and historical integrity of the work, while also defining the role of conservators and cementing their professionalization.
The Restoration Program
In recent years, the Academy has launched an extensive restoration program that has benefited from the generous patronage of the Callia Foundation. Thanks to this collaboration, it has been possible to treat outstanding works of art within its heritage. The current exhibition comprises a selection of twenty of these masterpieces.
Priority was given during the restoration process to respecting the original work and ensuring the reversibility of the materials used. This approach has restored the chromatic balance and luminosity, facilitating the correct understanding and reading of the pieces. Consequently, specialists Rafael Alonso and Alfonso Castrillo proceeded with the consolidation of the paint layers and the removal of overpainting, oxidized varnishes, stucco, and anomalies caused by selective cleanings and other previous interventions that distorted the original work.
Rafael Alonso’s exquisite treatment of the canvases has recovered the depth of the spaces, the volume of the figures, the transitions of light and shadow, and the original color palette, thereby revealing the unique technique of each artist.
Artistic Significance
The panel paintings preserved at the Academy constitute a representative testimony to this artistic form prior to the seventeenth century, featuring significant examples of Flemish, Spanish, and Italian art. The study and treatment carried out by Alfonso Castrillo have expanded our knowledge regarding the technical evolution of the supports and the changes in pictorial procedures.
The restored works allow the viewer to share in the fabulous manipulation of light by master Giovanni Bellini in The Savior, or the exquisite realistic execution of the still lifes by Willem Claesz Heda and Jan Brueghel the Elder. Likewise, the mysticism and spirituality of religious works from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries shine through via diverse plastic techniques—whether through the contrast of chromatic expressiveness (Juan de Juanes and Francisco Herrera the Elder), Tenebrist tendencies (Andrea Vaccaro), or the delicate balance between classicist forms and Caravaggesque chiaroscuro in Christ Embracing the Cross by Guido Reni.
Exhibition Details
The exhibition is complemented by videos and panels explaining the restoration process, as well as information regarding the provenance and intrinsic characteristics of each piece, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of the meticulous work performed.