Málaga Museum

Here's where you'll find the Málaga Museum of Fine Arts and the Málaga Provincial Archaeological Museum

The Málaga Museum opened its doors on December 12th, 2016. It houses the collections of two renowned institutions: the Málaga Museum of Fine Arts and the Málaga Provincial Archaeological Museum. It's the fifth largest museum in Spain and the largest in Andalusia. The building, an 18th century construction known as the Palacio de la Aduana, now brings together both collections that have been concealed since 1997. During these years, a museum plan was developed, encouraged by numerous public demands for the recovery of this extensive cultural heritage for the city of Málaga and the building that hosts it.

The transformation of the building into a museum is most clearly represented by the new roof that tops the property. The silver structure is inspired by the roof that burned in 1922. Moreover, the roof hides another story: each of its more than 6,000 tiles reproduces a 19th-century engraving of a city view featuring the silhouette of the Customs House itself. The uniqueness of the piece has led to its registration in the Patent and Trademark Office of the Ministry of Industry.

The artwork housed at the Málaga Museum

In total, the Málaga Museum's collection consists of 2,000 works in its Fine Arts section, which includes paintings and sculptures from renowned artists like Goya, Alonso Cano, Velázquez, Pedro de Mena, and Zurbarán. The institution safeguards what is considered one of the largest 19th-century painting collections in Spain, featuring artists such as Sorolla, Carlos de Haes, Federico Madrazo, Esquivel, Vicente López Portaña, and Ramón Casas. As well as several of the most famous members of the so-called Málaga School of Painting, including Moreno Carbonero, Enrique Simonet, Muñoz Degrain, José Nogales, and Bernardo Ferrándiz. On the international front, the museum houses works by Léon Bonnat and Franz Marc. In addition, it has an interesting collection of Spanish modern art up until the 1950s, with works by Picasso, Rafael Canogar, Juan Barjola, Óscar Domínguez, and Josep Guinovart, among others.

The archaeological section boasts a collection of more than 15,000 pieces, spanning a historical period from the 8th century BC to the Middle Ages. In recent decades, items from excavations carried out by the University of Málaga have been added. Similarly, various batches originating from the numerous preventive and emergency archaeological interventions carried out in Málaga's urban area over the last 20 years have been deposited.

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