Royal Academy of Fine Arts

Academic tradition and the great masters of Spanish art in a unique setting.

A smiling gentleman’s bust. His head is made up of roses and peonies, his sword takes the form of an iris, daisies form a lace ruff around his neck, and cabbage leaves decorate his sleeve. What might appear to be a surrealist work by Salvador Dalí is, in fact, a Mannerist painting created in the mid-16th century by the Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo for the imperial court in Vienna. Entitled Spring, it forms part of a celebrated series devoted to the four seasons.

This and other works that are as unique as they are enigmatic can be found at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. This historic institution was founded during the reign of Ferdinand VI in the mid-18th century and is now home to a little-known but outstanding museum. Among its highlights is one of the world’s finest collections of works by Goya, alongside paintings by Rubens, Zurbarán, Murillo and other great masters of Spanish and European art.

But the experience of visiting the Royal Academy of Fine Arts goes far beyond its remarkable works of art. These masterpieces can be admired in an almost intimate setting, away from Madrid’s usual tourist routes—a unique environment that allows visitors to experience something of the spirit of the Enlightenment and the refined cultural atmosphere of 18th-century Bourbon Madrid.