Postcard from Cordoba, Spain: Ducking into a couple of museums

“The Three Ages of the Woman,” Mateo Inurria Lainosa, 1923, Museo de Bellas Artes

The year 1835 jumpstarted the core collection of the Museum of Fine Art, or Bellas Artes, of Cordoba. Artwork held in convents was seized to establish the museum which opened in the former Hospital of Charity, operated by the Order of Saint Francis since the 15th century. Today’s collection focuses on regional artists from the 14th century to contemporary.

When the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum of Cordoba opened in 1867, it shared space with the Bellas Artes until 1920. After several additional moves, the current home was found in 1960 in the 16th-century Palacio de Paez de Castillejo. Recent expansions of the museum have revealed the underlying ruins of what was the largest theatre built in Roman Hispania, remnants enhancing the existing collection of Roman sculpture housed within.

Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Palacio de Viana

original artwork for poster with female figures, Julio Romero de Torres, 1902, Museo de Bellas Artes

detail of San Antonio in “Retablo de la Flagelacion,” 16th century, Museo de Bellas Artes

Roman ship’s prow, 1st century, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Palacio de Viana

Phoenician glass ointment jar, 4th century B.C., Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Palacio de Viana

Palacio de Viana

Drusus, son of Tiberius, Roman, 1st century, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

detail of 10th-century lattice, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

funerary stele of a prince of Jaen, 1263, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

mould-stamp for decorative bricks, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Palacio de Viana

Corinthian capital, 10th century, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

“Crouching Aphrodite,” Roman, 2nd century, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Museo de Bellas Artes

Palacio de Viana

detail of “San Nicolas de Bari,” Pedro de Cordoba, 14th century, Museo de Bellas Artes

fragment of a sarcophagus depicting Daniel in the lion’s den, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba

Palacio de Viana

“Mithras Sacrificing the Bull,” Roman, 2nd century, Archaeological Museum of Cordoba