The ''Casa de Velázquez'' is a French school in Spain modelled on the

Villa Médicis The Villa Medici () is a sixteenth-century Italian Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with 7-hectare Italian garden, contiguous with the more extensive Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in the historic c ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Villa Abd-el-Tif The Villa Abd-el-Tif, also known as ''la Villa Medicis algérienne'', is a Moorish villa located in Algiers, Algeria. It is notable for having been set up in 1907 in emulation of the French Academy in Rome, the Villa Medici. It was, until 196 ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

.''75 aniversario de la Casa de Velázquez. Memoria gráfica 1928-2003'', Madrid, Casa de Velázquez, 2006, 182 p. - accompanied by a CD of works by composers resident at the Casa de Velázquez: Thierry Machuel,

Philippe Hersant Philippe Hersant (born 21 June 1948 in Rome) is a French composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. Selected works :: Hersant's works are largely published by Éditions Durand. ;Stage * ''Le Château des Carpathes (opera), Le Châtea ...

, Jean-Philippe Bec, Jean-Louis Florentz, interpreted by the vocal ensemble Soli-Tutti, sous la under the direction of Denis Gautheyrie 8-49555-596-4 Like the ''

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

'' bursary for residence at the Villa Médicis and the defunct '' Prix Abd-el-Tif'' bursary for residence at the

, bursaries are awarded. The idea for a similar villa in Spain was raised in 1916 by the composer Charles-Marie Widor who at the time was secretary of the ''

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

'' of ''the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

''. The idea met with support of

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

who himself selected a site in Madrid which was ceded to France. The Foundation was legally founded in 1920, adapted by the architect Léon Chifflot, and opened for the first French artists in 1929. The villa was further enlarged by architect Camille Lefèvre (1876-1946) up to 1935. It was built in a

Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...

revival style, with a clear inspiration from the works of architect Juan de Herrera. In November 1936, during the Civil War, the building was bombed and severely damaged due to its location on the frontline in the

siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Second Spanish Republic, Republican-controlled Spain, Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, ...

. It was rebuilt in a simpler style in 1959, losing its characteristic

Herrerian The Herrerian style ( or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II of Spain, Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th century ...

slate-covered towers. The current director is Nancy Berthier.

References

External links

Annuaire des membres et des anciens membres de la Casa de Velázquez

Official website - la Casa de Velázquez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa de Velazquez French international schools in Spain Universities in the Community of Madrid