Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando

The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando is an eighteenth-century royal institution in central Madrid that combines an art academy with a public museum and collection. It has long served both as an educational institution for artists and as a repository for artworks used in teaching and display.

The site contains exhibition rooms and study collections that include paintings, drawings and prints which have been used historically for academy instruction and public display. The academy remains involved in artistic education, curation and the promotion of fine arts in Spain.

Founded under royal patronage in the 18th century, the institution has evolved as part of Spain’s official cultural and artistic infrastructure and has occupied its present central Madrid building for many decades. The museum collection has grown through royal gifts, acquisitions and transfers tied to the academy’s educational mission.

Located in central Madrid close to other cultural institutions, the academy and its museum are accessible from the historic core of the city.

What to See #

• Museum: Houses the public museum collection of the academy, with paintings, drawings and prints used for study and display dating primarily from the 16th to 19th centuries.
• Academy: Functions as an active teaching and governing academy for fine arts, maintaining academic departments, exhibitions and educational programs in central Madrid.