Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes

A collection of works of art from the 16th to the 20th century

The Municipal Museum of Fine Arts has fourteen rooms that house works dating from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century. The building is classicist and was built in early 1929 by the architect Eladio Laredo. The exterior is decorated with 10 busts of illustrious Tenerife citizens, including Teobaldo Power (musician and composer), Ángel Guimerá (poet and playwright), Juan de Iriarte (grammarian and literary figure), Antonio de Viana (poet), Villalba Hervás (historian), Bethencourt y Molina (engineer) and Valentín Sanz (painter). In 1840, the City Council ordered the construction of two caissons to preserve them. This initiative was the origin of the museum. In 1933, the rehabilitation of the current building began. Until then, the artistic collections of the municipality were exhibited in the meeting room of the City Hall. Some of the most notable works that can be found in this museum are the "Triptych of Nava and Grimón" by the Flemish painter Pieter Coecke; "San Andrés" by José de Rivera; "Orfeo" by Bueghel; a portrait of Queen Isabel II by Federico de Madrazo and Fernando Viscaí, by Joaquín Sorolla, among others. The museum is also home to an important representation of Canarian artists such as Gaspar de Quevedo, Cristóbal Hernández de Quintana, Juan de Miranda and González Méndez, as well as guided tours of the museum itself and the city's heritage (Santa Cruz Monumental, Plazas and Alamedas), book presentations, lecture series and musical recitals.