An architectural and artistic legacy in the heart of Granada
Located in the vicinity of Torres Bermejas and close to the monumental complex of the Alhambra, the headquarters of the Rodriguez-Acosta Foundation is one of the most beautiful architectural projects of its time. Built between 1916 and 1930, its commitment to modernity and the excellence of the ideas, designs and materials used in its conception and construction give it a lasting validity, recognized in its declaration as a national monument in 1982.
Although architects Modesto Cendoya, Teodoro Anasagasti, Ricardo Santacruz and José Felipe Jiménez Lacal, as well as sculptor Pablo Loyzaga were successively involved in its construction, the carmen bears, both in its general configuration and in each of its details, the personal stamp of José María Rodríguez-Acosta.
The steep slope of the terrain on which it sits gave rise to the terraces and viewpoints that make up its gardens. These gardens, very unique in the context of the monumental character of Granada’s cármenes, display a very interesting iconographic program based on the great themes of symbolism: love, death, ruin, madness, contemplative life, etc.
Spaces of inspiration and culture
The main building was conceived as a painting studio and is a summary of the European styles of the interwar period. The modernism and the germ of rationalism that nourish its formal sobriety – and even a certain severity – are linked to the most advanced assumptions of the Viennese Sezession. At the same time, it elegantly reinterprets the styles of the past with the incorporation of multiple stone and wood elements of diverse origins and antiquity: Hispano-Muslim columns and capitals, Renaissance doorways and fountains, fragments of Baroque constructions, etc.
Inside, the library occupies a central place. In contrast to the purity of the exterior, the chromatic and decorative richness of art deco, enhanced by a serene luxury, is surprising. It houses Rodríguez-Acosta’s select bookstore specializing in art, philosophy, literature and travel, along with the rest of the collections he assembled. Books and art objects are a reflection of a particular cosmopolitan taste, evocative of a wide and exquisite mental universe, populated by pieces from many different countries, styles and periods: paintings, sculptures, enamels, ivories, carpets, glass, ceramics, jewelry, archeological objects, etc. Of particular note are the Greco-Roman and Iberian art pieces, some of which come from excavations in Granada. Also important, although more unusual, is the magnificent collection of Asian art, both Hindu, Chinese and Tibetan, as well as Japanese, Thai and Burmese.
