The emblematic Customs Palace, home to the Museum of Malaga
CUSTOMS AND MÁLAGA, A LOVE STORY
The superb neoclassical Customs building, with its palm trees poetically leaning towards the sun, it forms a landscape triangle that runs through the most recognizable landmarks of the city skyline, with the Alcazaba and the Cathedral like vertices. Perhaps for this reason it has been defended tooth and nail by the people of Malaga, who not only perceive its imposing architecture, but also identify it as one of the few immutable corners of the capital.
Likewise, its former function, that of a customs building, takes the neighbors back to the 19th century, which would become the municipal roaring 20s . It was then that the province resonated throughout Europe as thriving industrial center , when alleys were changed for avenues and the most mediatic fortunes in Malaga's history were amassed - that of the Loring, the Larios, the Heredia ...-, when it became necessary build a seaside palace to manage the thriving trade with the Americas.
Precisely at that time plastic arts flourished in the city thanks to authors such as José Gartner, Emilio Ocón, Bernardo Ferrándiz, José Denis Belgrano, Fernando Labrada, Antonio Muñoz Degrain, José Moreno Carbonero, José Nogales or Enrique Simonet., who, of course, have a privileged space in the new gallery. In this way, the collection of the Museum of Malaga almost symbiotically linked with the building that contains it, with that time when the waves caressed the steps of the Custom House.
Privileged position
THE MÁLAGA MUSEUM COLLECTION
" The Malaga Museum does not tell a linear story nor does it try to show the gaps in history with other pieces, but explains the reason for these absences at certain times, thus responding to the singular history of the Malaga territory ", they explain from the Junta de Andalucía. Under this premise, its two main sections are deployed, the one of Fine Arts and the one of Archeology -organized according to the criteria of the team in charge of the museography of the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid- . In total, both have more than 17,000 pieces, of which 2,700 are exposed.
The origins of these works are very diverse, highlighting in the first section those that come from the San Telmo Academy of Fine Arts (also in Malaga), the ** Prado Museum **, the ** Reina Sofía ** and the private donations of artists and collectors. The archaeological collection, for its part, was born almost entirely from the funds of the former Loringian Museum (driven by the Marquises of Casa-Loring) and the excavations carried out in the Alcazaba, so that it has pieces, above all, from Malaga.
Both sections, with pieces dating from Prehistory to the 80s of the last century and that have been considered by specialized critics as high display value, are exhibited on the two floors of the museum, to which is added a warehouse area that can be visited and that shows some of the works that are not part of the permanent collection. Their meaning, when combined, will allow " discover and reflect on many moments in the history of Malaga and its province ", according to the Board.
Building and collection come together harmoniously
USEFUL DATA
On Tuesday, December 13, the Malaga Museum will open to the public. It will be closed on Mondays, as long as they are not holidays, as well as on Sunday afternoons. The opening hours will be from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. , while Sundays and holidays it will open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Any citizen of the European Union will be able to enter for free. , while those who do not reside in the EU will have to contribute €1.5 for your input. Nevertheless, the ground floor, where the beautiful patio is located, will be free for all audiences, since the idea is to configure it as a recreation space for all citizens . In addition, the museum also has laboratories, workshops, auditorium and library, configuring the Palace as "a meeting place and cultural enjoyment" , according to the Junta de Andalucía.
During the rehabilitation, the patio has been designed as a public square
Neoclassicism and modernity
The new most "in" terrace in the city