Royal Academy of Fine Arts

An idyll of art

The bust of a smiling gentleman. His head composed of roses and peonies, the sword in the shape of an iris, daisies like a lace ruff and cabbage leaves on the sleeve. What might seem like a surrealist work by Salvador Dalí is actually a mid-16th century Mannerist painting created by the Italian Giuseppe Arcimboldo for the Imperial Court in Vienna. It is titled “Spring” and is part of a series about the seasons.

This and other mysterious works are exhibited at the Royal Academy of San Fernando. A venerable institution founded under Ferdinand VI in the mid-18th century, which today has a fairly unknown but exquisite museum. One of the best collections of Goyas in the world and also works by Rubens, Zurbarán, Murillo and other masters.

But what the Royal Academy offers goes much further. These gems of painting can be seen in an almost intimate atmosphere far away from the tourist routes, an atmosphere that brings back to life the Bourbon 18th century.