Póster presentado en:

UMAC Universeum Congress Dresden 2024.

por Javier Jurado García, Assistant Curator

en representación del Gabinete de Estampas, Departamento de Dibujo y Grabado, Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España

 

History of the Institution and the Collection

The origin of the institution dates back to 1752, under the name of Academia de Nobles Artes de San Fernando, acting as a center for the study of the Fine Arts, following the example of European Academies such as The Accademia di San Luca in Rome, and L´Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. However, after different historical events, the institution was divided in 1844 into three centres, known nowadays as the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, the Faculty of Architecture of the Polytechnic University, and the Faculty of Fine Arts of Complutense University of Madrid.

The Fine Art School, now known as the Escuela Superior de Dibujo, Pintura y Escultura, operated as an independent institution from 1844 until 1978, when it joined to the Complutense University. Today, the Faculty houses a significant fine art collection that reflects the teaching traditions and artistic practices developed over its long history.

At present, as part of these extensive legacy, the Fine Arts collection houses over 6.000, spanning a variety of styles and techniques.These prints are distributed across the library and the Graphics Cabinets within the Department of Printmaking and Drawing, providing a valuable historical and cultural resource.

 

The Gabinete de Estampas as an University Print Collection

The Gabinete de Estampas at the Faculty of Fine Arts is a specialized print collection established in 1999 as a result of two research projects directed by Professor Coca Garrido, Head of the Collection until 2014, with the collaboration of José Luis Alonso García and Álvaro Paricio Latasa.

Initially conceived as a repository for the historical legacy of the faculty and the prints donated by students and professors, the Cabinet has since grown to encompass a diverse collection of over seven thousand prints, featuring works by renowned artists, including Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, José Luis Alexanco, Mitsuo Miura, and Salvador Victoria. This collection represents several artistic styles and periods and serves as a valuable resource for studying the history and development of printmaking in Spain and beyond, highlights the Arabian and Latin American schools.

The Reactivation of the collection

1 phase 2017-2022

• Due to the retirement of the staff responsible for the collection, the Cabinet was inactive for a period of 10 years from 2007.
• With the idea of rectifying this situation, in the academic year 2017/16, as part of the university project The Artistic Heritage of the Faculty of Fine Arts as a model for analysis and study in the training of artists. Redesigning and enhancing the cabinets and collections, the institution initiated the reactivation of the collection.
• In 2018, printmaking professor Mónica Gener Frigols was appointed director of the collection.
• In addition to the director and collaborators, the collection benefits from the participation of one or two students each year. Through a collaboration with the Department's scholarship program, these students work on the collection for a period of one school year.
• The first initiative involved a significant change in the collection's identity, from the Gabinete de Grabados (Cabinet of Engravings) to the Gabinete de Estampas (Cabinet of Prints). This reflects a broader understanding of the diverse range of printmaking techniques represented in the collection.
• A crucial step in the reactivation of the collection was the reorganization of its approximately 4,000 prints. This comprehensive project, completed between 2017 and 2024, has significantly improved the collection's accessibility and preservation.
• We will launch a program of activities, including guided visits for student groups and open days for the public to explore the collection.
• In 2021, Javier Jurado García, who had been a collaborator fellow since 2019, was appointed Assistant Curator of the collection. This promotion was made possible by a pre-doctoral fellowship that allowed him to conduct in-depth research on the collection.
• As part of the thesis, the first-ever comparative study between historical and current catalogs and inventories was conducted..
• The project will involve a comprehensive historical study of the collection, along with a thorough cataloging of all works not previously inventoried since 2006, including any new donations and bequest.
• In 2020, the Gabinete de Estampas launched its official website as part of the Teaching Innovation Project, led by Mónica Gener, Director of the collection. This project focused on creating engaging multimedia content to showcase the collection's holdings and promote awareness of the techniques and procedures involved in engraving and printing. The website has proven to be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and art enthusiasts, providing access to the collection's resources and contributing to the preservation of artistic heritage.
• To increase global awareness and recognition, we will initiate an international dissemination program featuring lectures and conferences at specialized congresses.

 

2 phase 2022- to present

• From 2022, the direction of the collection he will change becoming co-director of the Gabinete de Estampas Carmen Hidalgo de Cisneros Wilckens and Marta Aguilar Moreno until 13 May 2024 and then with Juan Doggenweiler Olavarría.
• In this second phase, the programme of activities will be resumed, organising workshops and visits for groups of students on the occasion of Museum Days and Science Week.
• In 2023, the Abandoned Property project started.
• To date, the collection was housed in planeras that shared space with the Chalcographic engraving classroom and office. In the summer of 2024 an independent space was created to house the collection with a Study Room to receive study groups.
• In line with the renovation of the classroom and the construction of the Study Room, the permanent exhibition proposal of the main classroom was changed, incorporating several temporary exhibition areas to show projects, a permanent collection and an annual and rotating exhibition of student works.
• Expand the functions of the Cabinet and create a documental archive on the collection, the artists' works and the artists that compose them. Begin to create an archive to preserve all the documentary materials related to the management of the collection and the activities carried out with it, as well as by the engraving specialty itself (workshops, exhibitions, courses, etc.).
• Provide at the collection with a bibliographic funds for consultation.
• The internal processes of the collection are formalized and it is provided with documentation, management and conservation processes of a museographed heritage collection.
• As lines of action, the collection will focus on attracting new donations of works, both from unrepresented professors, especially those who have taught in the specialty of printmaking, as well as from students.

 

Future plans

Our vision for the collection is to consolidate the lines of work initiated in the two previous phases, positioning it as an international reference. We aim to integrate the processes of conservation and use of the collection into the academic programme, thus fostering a close relationship between theory and practice. We also seek to enrich the collection through new donations and to celebrate its history with a major exhibition, accompanied by publications detailing the more than 3000 new additions and historical funds.

 

 

Key notes

Abandoned Property

AP/Abandoned Property is an initiative started in 2023 by Carmen Hidalgo de Cisneros Wilckens, Director of the Gabinete de Estampas, with a working group of six students. The project proposes the creation of a parallel collection, with a more educational approach, from stamps and matrices collected from drawers and closets in disuse, with the aim of providing teaching materials that should not always conform to the same quality standards as the main collection, e.g. prints with errors that may be of interest to teach what is not to do.

 

Activities

Until 2018, the collection was mainly focused on the conservation and protection of the works accumulated throughout its history. However, with the new reactivation plan, a more functional approach was adopted, oriented to respond to the needs of research and teaching. Since then, activities related to the collection have intensified, both inside and outside the institution, through lectures, conferences, exhibitions and presentations at international forums.

 

Documentary Archive

To enhance the collection's resources and documentation, we established a parallel documentary archive containing all relevant documents generated by the collection, including images, documentation, and posters. This archive aims to preserve a comprehensive record of the collection's activities, such as exhibitions, talks, and conferences, providing valuable insights for future research and analysis.

 

Historical catalogues and inventories

To date, any publication on the collection has included a comparative study of the various inventories. This thesis has carried out an exhaustive comparative analysis, resulting in a general catalogue that integrates the concordant and discordant data of each work.

 

Historical study of the collection

Despite its historical significance, the collection has lacked a dedicated study of its own history. The dissertation has filled this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the development of the collection, including its independent relationship with the Royal Academy and its formation through donations from students and teachers since 1844.

 

New cataloging project

Between 1999 and 2006, an initial project was carried out to catalogue more than 3,800 prints. Thanks to the research carried out by Javier Jurado for his doctoral thesis, it has been possible to catalogue and order a significant number of works that had not yet been catalogued, adding more than 3,000 new prints to the collection. These include key works by artists such as Rembrandt.

 

Reorganization of the permanent collection

Prior to its reactivation in 2018, the collection had undergone several years of inactivity, which included the disorganisation of the holdings. To this end, the main task was to organise the collection and separate the uncatalogued works from those already included in the permanent catalogue. The arrangement of frames and exhibition elements, as well as documents and materials from the collection.

 

Specialized library

The collection has incorporated a small reference library with publications related to the collection, to support direct work and study in the Study Room.

 

Standardized Process

To enhance the collection's museological and heritage value, we have implemented standardized processes and administrative documentation. This ensures greater efficiency, transparency, and accessibility for both researchers and visitors.

 

Study room

The remodeling of the space for the Print Collection, located in the printmaking area of the Faculty of Fine Arts, is scheduled for the 2024/25 academic year. This specific place, with the capacity to contain the entire collection in compliance with safety and conservation criteria, will provide easier and more orderly access for students, teachers and researchers. This change will provide the collection with a new study and consultation room, which will give access to the collection and direct observation of original prints, something that will have a direct impact on the teaching and learning of drawing, graphic techniques, paper support, engraving and printing.

 

Temporary exhibition space

Although not a traditional exhibition space, the Cabinet provides a unique opportunity for students to engage first-hand with the collection and research projects. By hosting exhibitions and displaying work in the engraving classrooms, with the aim to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment.

 

Website

In the 2020/19 academic year, the official website of the collection was published, as a result of the Teaching Innovation Project: Recognition of the techniques and procedures of engraving and printing in Graphic Art, through the creation of multimedia content for the website of the Gabinete de Estampas. Project n.º 251, directed by Mónica Gener. The website offers a general presentation of the collection, with a large amount of resources and contents related to the world of graphic art.