Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes

The Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes, more commonly known as the Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada, is the oldest provincial art museum in Spain. Located in Granada, Andalusia, it has been housed since 1958 on the upper floor of the Palace of Charles V within the Alhambra complex. Owned by the Government of Andalusia, the institution preserves and displays one of the most significant collections of old art in Andalusia, with particular strengths in religious painting and sculpture from the 15th through 20th centuries. Its origins in the confiscation of ecclesiastical property during the 19th century gave it a distinctive character dominated by works with religious themes and connections to the city of Granada.

The collections consist primarily of paintings and sculptures spanning the 15th to the 20th centuries. The bulk and richest holdings derive from religious foundations disaffected during the 19th-century confiscations, giving the permanent collection a pronounced orientation toward Granada religiously themed works from the 16th through 18th centuries. Since 1984, the museum has been significantly enriched by the contribution of the Junta de Andalucía's Collection, which focuses on 19th- and 20th-century works. Additional works deposited by the Museo del Prado and various acquisitions, both of contemporary art and old masters, have further broadened the collection. The holdings encompass a wide range of materials and techniques, including oil painting, sculpture in wood, and enamel on copper.

Among the earliest works is the late 15th-century sculpture Santa María de la Alhambra, attributed to Roberto Alemán, which formerly adorned the Puerta de la Justicia of the Alhambra; it was removed from display in 1941 and replaced with a copy for conservation purposes. From the same period comes the Triptych of the Gran Capitán, executed in Limoges enamel on copper. The early 16th century is represented by Jacopo Torni's large sculptural group El entierro de Cristo and a slightly later wooden relief of the Virgin and Child by Diego de Siloé. The museum's 17th-century holdings are particularly distinguished by multiple works of Juan Sánchez Cotán, including Bodegón con cardo y zanahorias (Still Life with Thistle and Carrots), regarded as perhaps the finest work in the museum and a key piece of his oeuvre, alongside another still life by the same artist in the Museo del Prado. Religious works by Sánchez Cotán from the Certosa of Granada are also present, including Virgen despertando al Niño. Another significant still life is Cajitas de dulces by Juan van der Hamen, from the archiepiscopal palace. Alonso Cano, founder of the Granadan school of painting, is represented by La Virgen del Lucero and San Jerónimo penitente en el desierto, as well as a sculpture of San Diego de Alcalá. The museum also holds numerous works by Cano's followers, including painters Pedro Atanasio Bocanegra and Juan de Sevilla, and sculptors Pedro de Mena, represented by a bust of the Dolorosa or de la Soledad, and José de Mora. Other artists include the Cieza family, Pedro de Moya, Ambrosio Martínez Bustos, the Gómez de Valencia family, and José Risueño. From the 19th century, Mariano Fortuny's Vista del Antiguo Ayuntamiento de Granada (1873) stands out, alongside Antonio Muñoz Degrain's 1920 Paisaje de Sierra Nevada. The collection also includes the Allegory of Death by P. Toma and an anonymous 17th-century St. Francis of Assisi.

The Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada is located within the Alhambra complex in Granada, Spain. It is owned by the Government of Andalusia and operates under the regional museum system, with information available through the official website https://www.museosdeandalucia.es/web/museodebellasartesdegranada. The museum shares its historic Renaissance palace setting with the Museo de la Alhambra, which occupies the ground floor. Visitors to the Alhambra complex can access the museum as part of their exploration of this UNESCO World Heritage site, experiencing the convergence of Christian Renaissance and Islamic Nasrid architecture alongside the fine arts collection.