José Gabriel de Silva-Bazán y Waldstein, 10th Marquess of Santa Cruz de Mudela (18 March 1782, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

– 4 November 1839, in Madrid), was a Spanish noble, first Director of the

Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

between 1817 and 1820 and

Mayordomo mayor {{short description, High Steward of Spain The Mayordomo mayor (High Steward) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the person and rooms of the King of Spain. The Office of “Mayordomo mayor” wa ...

between 1822 and 1823.

Biography

He was a descendant of

Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquess of Santa Cruz Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

, as eldest son of José Joaquín de Silva-Bazán (1734–1802), 9th Marquess of Santa Cruz and his second Austrian wife Mariana de Waldstein (1763–1807). He was a senator, a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece (1821), the Order of Calatrava and the Order of Carlos III.
He was also Gentilhombre,

and

Sumiller de Corps The Sumiller de Corps was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the more intimate and inner rooms of the King of Spain. He was responsible of the most immediate service to the Monarch. This Office was s ...

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

, member of the Regency Council during the childhood of

Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

, Ambassador in París, special envoy to London for the coronation of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

, and director of the

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

. He was even Prime Minister of Spain for 6 days in January 1822. In 1817, he became the first

Director of the Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

. Before the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, his father had already convinced King Charles IV not to burn the ''obscene'' paintings in the Royal collection, as was the wish of the previous King Charles III, but to store them in a private gallery. After the War, under impulse of Queen

Maria Isabel of Braganza Maria Isabel of Braganza (Maria Isabel Francisca de Assis Antónia Carlota Joana Josefa Xavier de Paula Micaela Rafaela Isabel Gonzaga; 19 May 1797 – 26 December 1818) was an Infanta of Portugal who became Queen of Spain as the second wife of ...

, the Museum was created with José Gabriel de Silva-Bazán as its first Director. He was replaced as Director by his brother-in-law

Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Alfonso-Pimentel, 2nd Prince of Anglona (1786–1851), was a Spanish military officer during the Peninsular War, Director of the Prado Museum between 1820 and 1823 and Captain General of Cuba (from January 184 ...

, after the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium, but in the uncertain times following the death of King

Ferdinand VII of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

, he collaborated with the new Director

José Rafael de Silva Fernández de Híjar José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

to keep the museum's collection together.

Marriage and children

He married in 1801 with Joaquina Téllez-Girón (1784–1851), daughter of Pedro Téllez-Girón, 9th Duke of Osuna and

María Josefa Pimentel, 12th Countess-Duchess of Benavente Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

and painted by

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

.
They had 4 children. *Joaquina (1802–1876), married Pedro de Alcántara Álvarez de Toledo y Palafox, XVII Duque de Medina Sidonia (1803–1867) *Inés (1806–1865), married Nicolás Osorio y Zayas, XVI Marqués de Alcañices and XV Duke of Alburquerque (1799–1866) *Fernanda María (1808–1879), married Andrés Avelino de Arteaga Lazcano y Carvajal, VI Marqués de Valmediano (1807–1850), *Francisco de Borja (1815–1889), 11th Marquess of Santa Cruz, with issue

Images by Francisco Goya

File:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Mariana Waldstein, Ninth Marquesa de Santa Cruz - WGA10015.jpg, ''Mariana Waldstein'', his mother (1797–1800) Image:Los duques de Osuna y sus hijos.jpg, ''The Duke of Osuna and his young family'', his parents-in-law (1788) Image:Retrato de la Marquesa de Santa Cruz.jpg, ''The Marchioness of Santa Cruz'', his wife (1805)

Sources

*
Museo del Prado

Medinaceli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva-Bazan, Jose Gabriel de 1782 births 1839 deaths Directors of the Museo del Prado 19th-century Spanish nobility Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain