Museum of Spanish Art Enrique Larreta, Art museum in Belgrano district, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Museo de Arte Español Enrique Larreta occupies a white-walled house with a red clay tile roof on Avenida Juramento 2291, in Belgrano. Built in 1886 by Ernesto Bunge as an Italianate summer villa, it was remodelled in 1916 by Christian Schindler into a neo-colonial "Castilian palace" for the writer Enrique Larreta. Its twelve exhibition rooms hold Spanish art from the medieval period to the early 20th century, and a 6,500 m² Andalusian garden lies behind.
The house was built in 1886 by architect Ernesto Bunge for Francisco Chas and Catalina Salas. Mercedes Castellanos de Anchorena bought it in 1894 and gave it to her daughter Josefina on her 1903 marriage to Enrique Larreta. In 1916, following advice from Martín Noel, architect Christian Schindler remodelled it as a neo-colonial "Castilian palace". Larreta's family sold it to the City of Buenos Aires in 1961, and the museum opened in October 1962.
The house is named after Enrique Larreta, who wrote the historical novel La gloria de Don Ramiro (1908), set in the time of Philip II. The museum displays the collection of Spanish regional costumes that Eva Duarte de Perón received during her 1947 visit to Spain, along with costumes belonging to the dancer Antonia Mercé.
The entrance is at Juramento 2291, on the block bounded by Vuelta de Obligado, Cuba and Mendoza, one block from the Cabildo and Juramento junction. The 6,500 m² Andalusian garden is part of the visit, so allow time to walk it. The museum runs courses, lectures and seminars alongside the galleries.
The garden's most storied specimen is a centenarian wisteria, joined by a ginkgo biloba; the grounds once covered the whole block. The museum also keeps the regional Spanish costumes Eva Duarte de Perón received during her 1947 visit to Spain, and dancer Antonia Mercé's wardrobe.
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