The Portuguese drawings in the Biblioteca Nacional Drawings and Engravings Service include a 16th-century masterpiece, De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines, by Francisco de Holanda.
The numerous examples of 16th- to 19th-century drawings include notable works by artists like Vincenzo Casale, Arcimboldo, Aniello Falcone, Guido Reni, Bernini, Luca Giordano, Giambattista Tiepolo, Piranesi, and Maratti.
The Biblioteca Nacional original drawings collections, which is held by the Drawings and Engravings Service, is one of the most important in Spain, both for its quality and for its volume, with over 80,000 works from the 15th century to the present.ĭrawings by Spanish masters such as El Greco, Velázquez, Alonso Cano, Murillo, Claudio Coello, Paret, Salvador Carmona, Ventura Rodríguez, Villanueva, Goya, Alenza, and Fortuny, can be seen alongside others by the latest avant-garde artists, including José Caballero, Julio González, Vázquez Díaz, Benjamín Palencia, Manolo Millares, and Eusebio Sempere. It also received the graphic holdings of the dissolved Africa Section, bought original drawings for comics from the 1940s and 1950s, and received a flurry of donations, including important holdings from Antonio Fernández Alba and Secundino Zuazo, consisting of thousands of plans and architectural drawings, as well as large donations from cartoonists such as Chumy Chúmez, Peridis, and Forges. The collection continued growing slowly, and subsequent head librarians have spared no effort in ensuring its growth.įollowing the Spanish Civil War, drawings held by the Junta de Incautación y Protección del Patrimonio Artístico (Body for the Confiscation and Protection of Works of Art) which had not been reclaimed by their owners were added, and in 1951, Henriette Nigrin, the widow of Mariano Fortuny Madrazo, donated some of his drawings and many by his father, Mariano Fortuny Marsal.ĭuring the second half of the 20th century, the library continued to acquire a wide variety of works, from illustrations of Cervantes to drawings by contemporary artists, including drawings by children who were in school summer camps in 19. In 1904, drawings by Eugenio Izquierdo on non-botanical subjects, which were in his library deposited in the Museum of Natural Sciences, were added to the Library. Over the years, further drawings were acquired, and during the reign of Rossell’s successor, Angel Maria de Barcia, significant donations were received, as noted by Barcia himself in the Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos, including donations from Rafael Moleón and Rogelio Egusquiza.
In 1899, over 1,000 drawings were added from the collection of José de Madrazo, which had been distributed among his heirs following his death.
The exchange of duplicate prints with other collectors, such as the painter and collector Manuel Castellano, contributed to enriching the new collection. Thanks to the work of the first head librarian of the Print Room, Isidoro Rosell (1868-1878), the graphic material scattered throughout the collections from the Royal Library was separated, leading to its own collection which was formed in the newly created Print Room, including the purchase made by the State from the collector Valentín Carderera in 1867. The BNE’s significant and extensive collection of drawings, one of the largest in the world, took shape over time and is constantly growing thanks to acquisitions, exchanges and donations which further enrich these holdings and show how drawing has changed over time.
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