Museo Salzillo, Art museum in Murcia, Spain
The Museo Salzillo is an art museum in Murcia displaying religious sculptures and large-scale processional figures created by Francisco Salzillo across multiple exhibition rooms within a baroque church. The collection contains more than five hundred works featuring detailed figure scenes arranged throughout the sacred spaces.
The museum was first proposed in 1914, but its creation was only approved by the Ministry of National Education in 1941. The building, an annex to the Church of Jesus, was designed by José Tamés and Eduardo Jiménez Casalins with plans dated 1955, and it opened in 1960. In 1962 it was declared a historic-artistic monument. A 2007 reorganization was inaugurated by King Juan Carlos I.
The collection features nativity scene figures that portray everyday moments from 18th-century Murcia, complete with detailed clothing and professions of local residents. Visitors can see how these sculptures capture the daily routines and crafts of that era.
The museum occupies the church of Jesús on Plaza de San Agustín, with the exhibition rooms in an annex structurally connected to the temple. The entrance to the newer museum body faces Calle Doctor Quesada, where the facade of the demolished Palacio Riquelme was mounted. The 2007 reorganization by architect Yago Bonet Correa created a single continuous route through the collection.
The sculptures belong to the Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno brotherhood and are displayed within the church's sacred space, giving them a liturgical character. This closeness to their original purpose makes the visit blend art museum and place of devotion in an unusual way.
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