The Museum of Fine Arts in Oviedo opened in 1980. Its huge collection of c.10,000 pieces is spread over four buildings next to the Cathedral, in the old town. Old buildings have been restored to house the collections and it is a fascinating museum to visit.
The House of Solis-Carbajal
We entered the Museum through what is called the extension on the Cathedral Square, the House of Solis-Carbajal. This houses the contemporary collections.
Front door of the extension 
White building is the extension
Inside the contemporary collections building there are white walls and sharp, clean lines, and the building itself is a ‘work of art’. One picture in particular caught my attention – a rather bizarre panel – but one should really linger, and make more than one visit. There is always too much to see in an art gallery.
The House of Oviedo-Portal
From the contemporary collections one walks through to the Oviedo-Portal house which displays 19C art.
There is a fine collection of Asturian painters and I particularly enjoyed these two ladies:
Historical views of Oviedo
I always find it fascinating to look at historic images of a town, or area, and there are some marvellous views in the Museum of Fine Arts.
The Palacio de Velarde
The Palacio de Velarde was built for Pedro Velarde Cienfugos in 1765-70 and holds the oldest collections ( 14th-19th centuries) in the Museum of Fine Arts. It is a three-storey building around a central courtyard.
Goya and Uria
I find Goya one of the most extraordinary painters and look forward to exploring his paintings and drawings in the Prado in Madrid in the autumn of this year. Carlos IV was a weak king and Goya captures this in a wonderful portrait. Contrast this wealth and opulence with the distress and poverty after a strike in the striking painting by Uria.
Still life paintings
I enjoy still life paintings and these works by Luis Melendez in the Museum of Fine Arts were lovely, and the same fruit and vegetables we saw during our visit. He was apparently the leading Spanish still life painter during his time.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Oviedo is a very fine and varied collection in fascinating buildings – a must-visit in Oviedo. It is always worth spending time in a Fine Arts Museum, and I am always surprised.
Plazas in Oviedo | London Traveller
[…] Palace (early 17C), the Romanesque Church of St Tirso, and the buildings which are the Fine Arts Museum of Oviedo. But it is the Cathedral of San Salvador which holds one’s […]