Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao

About the museum

The museum grew out of a civic initiative supported by the City Council, the Provincial Council (Diputación) and a group of artists. It was founded on 5 October 1908 and opened its doors on 8 February 1914 in three rooms of the former School of Arts and Crafts of Atxuri. In 1924 the Museum of Modern Art was also created, and in 1938 the architects Fernando Urrutia and Gonzalo Cárdenas designed a single building for both collections in the Ensanche district.

The building, neoclassical in style and inspired by the Prado Museum, opened on 17 June 1945 and was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1962. The two collections were de facto merged at that point, and administratively in 1969. In 1970 a modern wing by Álvaro Líbano and Ricardo Beascoa was added, and in 2001 Luis María Uriarte’s project joined the two buildings; the museum reopened on 10 November 2001. Later the Agravitas extension, by Norman Foster and Luis María Uriarte, was launched, its foundation stone laid in November 2022.

The collection exceeds 19,000 works: some 15,000 on paper, more than 2,000 paintings, nearly 500 sculptures and some 800 pieces of decorative arts. It covers mainly the 13th to the 20th century and includes the Jado bequest of Flemish art, a set of Oriental art from José Palacio and, as its most distinctive core, one of the finest collections of Basque art, with artists such as Guiard, Regoyos, Arteta, Zuloaga, Oteiza and Chillida.

Highlights

• More than 19,000 works, from the 13th to the 20th century
• One of the finest collections of Basque art: Regoyos, Arteta, Zuloaga, Oteiza and Chillida
• Ancient art with El Greco, Zurbarán, Murillo, Ribera and Van Dyck
• Goya, Gauguin, Cassatt, Bacon, Tàpies and Serra
• Jado bequest of Flemish art and collection of Oriental art

Permanent exhibitions

• Arte Antiguo. Hasta 1914 – Permanent collection gallery (ground floor) devoted to art before 1914.
• Arte moderno. 1914-1945 – Permanent collection gallery (first floor) devoted to art of the first half of the 20th century.
• Arte Contemporáneo – Permanent collection gallery (first floor) with contemporary works from the museum’s collection.

Founded

1908

Director

Miguel Zugaza

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On Tuesdays admission is free (collections only).

Free admission for under-18s and for Friends of the Museum. The website also mentions other free admissions without detailing them, and does not specify the groups entitled to reduced admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Kafe museoa café, with its own entrance and open to the public without museum admission. Museum shop (also online), accessible without admission, with the same hours as the café: Monday to Saturday 10:00–19:00 and Sundays 10:00–15:00.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit