Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797)
05/12/2021.
[MAD] Spain 05.011.2021 >30.01.2022
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
2021 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth, in Palermo, of the architect and engineer Francisco Sabatini (1721-1797), who was the first architect of the Royal Household and responsible for the works carried out in the reigns of Carlos III and Carlos IV, having a prominent role in the configuration of the city of Madrid.
Francisco Sabatini was the author of such emblematic works in Madrid as La Puerta de Alcalá, the reform of the Royal Palace, the old General Hospital -now headquarters of the Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum-, the Royal Botanical Garden, the Royal Basilica of San Francisco El Grande, the Customs House or the Godoy Palace.
Francisco Sabatini was the author of such emblematic works in Madrid as La Puerta de Alcalá, the reform of the Royal Palace, the old General Hospital -now headquarters of the Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum-, the Royal Botanical Garden, the Royal Basilica of San Francisco El Grande, the Customs House or the Godoy Palace.
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Royal Palace façade. 1760. Royal Palace (Patio de Armas) Calle de Bailén, s / n, 28071 Madrid.
Puerta de Alcalá. 1769 – 1778. Plaza de la Independencia, s/n, 28001 Madrid
Real Jardín Botánico. 1776 – 1778. Plaza de Murillo, 2, 28014 Madrid.
Hospital General. 1769 – 1797. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, 28012 Madrid.
Hospital General. 1769 – 1797. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, 28012 Madrid.
Real Casa de la Aduana. 1761 – 1769. Real Casa de la Aduana Calle de Alcalá, 9, 28014 Madrid.
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
José María Avrial y Flores. Vista del Palacio Real desde la montaña del Príncipe Pío, 1836. Museo de Historia de Madrid.
The convent of San Pedro de Alcántara: sectional perspective, graphic reconstruction.
The General Hospital: sectional perspective, graphic reconstruction.
Francisco Sabatini. Elevation and floor plan of Puerta de Alcalá, 1769 – 1778. Patrimonio Nacional, Archivo General de Palacio.
Francisco Sabatini. Longitudinal section of iglesia de San Pedro de Alcántara, 1786. Patrimonio Nacional, Archivo General de Palacio.
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
Exhibition view. Sabatini's Madrid. The construction of a European capital (1760-1797). Photograph by Álvaro López del Cerro
The life and work of the Sabatini are exhibited through the analysis of more than a hundred historical pieces, among which are the best plans and drawings of the architect from the main public and private, national and international collections. You can also see sculptural and pictorial works of art, including oil paintings by Francisco de Goya and Salvador Maella.
The exhibition facilitates the approach through a graphic narration of great technical quality and an innovative audiovisual production. The city that the Palermitano designed is exhibited before visitors through a graphic reconstruction in three dimensions that accompanies and completes the historical analysis of the transformation of the capital.
Architecture and power
Francisco Sabatini was an architect and royal engineer in the service of Carlos III and Carlos IV between the years 1760 and 1797. He is responsible for such emblematic works in Madrid as the reform of the Royal Palace, the Customs House, the Godoy Palace, the Basilica San Francisco el Grande or the Puerta del Real Jardín Botánico. His career of more than three decades at the service of the Spanish monarchy not only transformed the architecture of the royal sites, but also the morphology of the capital.
Madrid was in 1760 the capital of a vast transatlantic empire. Carlos III, who for more than 25 years had been sovereign of the Two Sicilies (1734-1759), knew what it was to rule a metropolis. The monarch had transformed Naples, the third most populous city on the continent after London and Paris, into a true European capital. When in 1759 he arrived in Madrid, he proposed to use the same architectural culture that he had tried in Italy and for this reason he decided to claim Sabatini, of whom he knew his efficiency and solvency.
The exhibition explains the relationship between architecture and monarchy, space and power, addressing not only the most important projects carried out by Sabatini for the city of Madrid, but also the model of State, nation and society that Carlos III tried to implement with the transformation of his capital.
La exposición se articula en torno a las siguientes unidades museográficas:
1.- Construir y gobernar: las artes al servicio del poder
En la tarea de construir una capital intervienen, hoy como ayer, muchas manos. En el siglo XVIII, si bien fueron los soberanos los que tuvieron la última palabra, otros importantes agentes políticos participaron de manera crucial en su gobierno y, en consecuencia, diseño y arquitectura. Entre ellos destacan los secretarios de Estado y del Despacho que, como Esquilache, Grimaldi o Floridablanca, estuvieron detrás de importantísimas iniciativas urbanas. El espacio, entendido como herramienta de gobierno, se convirtió de este modo en un asunto de Estado durante el reinado de Carlos III.
Sabatini comprendió rápidamente este axioma y desde su llegada a Madrid en 1760 acomodó sus diseños y proyectos a las necesidades y valores políticos demandados por los representantes de la monarquía y el Estado. Para ello, Sabatini no solo acudió a su experiencia en Roma y Nápoles, sino también al conocimiento proporcionado por una riquísima biblioteca que le permitió estar al corriente de todas las novedades arquitectónicas de su tiempo.
Sabatini comprendió rápidamente este axioma y desde su llegada a Madrid en 1760 acomodó sus diseños y proyectos a las necesidades y valores políticos demandados por los representantes de la monarquía y el Estado. Para ello, Sabatini no solo acudió a su experiencia en Roma y Nápoles, sino también al conocimiento proporcionado por una riquísima biblioteca que le permitió estar al corriente de todas las novedades arquitectónicas de su tiempo.
2.- The palace, the capital and the State: spaces for a monarchy
The palace is one of the most representative symbols of majesty, difficult to imagine a monarchy without a prestigious seat that would be able to reflect the values with which it wishes to be associated. Felipe V and Isabel de Farnesio understood this well and that is why they called Filippo Juvarra in 1734 so that, after the fire of the Alcázar, he would build a palace worthy of his identity. Juvarra, Sicilian like Sabatini, designed a true monument in which the court and the State had to coexist on the same roof, the palace was thus transformed into the nerve center of royal Madrid.
Carlos III imitated in Naples the model of his parents and, therefore, while Sacchetti, after the death of Juvarra, was building the new palace in Madrid, the King of the Two Sicilies ordered the construction of the colossal Palace of Caserta in 1750. Vanvitelli's project, where Sabatini intervened, demonstrates the great involvement of Carlos III with architecture. After his arrival in Madrid, the new sovereign will be intensely involved in the transformation of a capital whose space should reflect his idea and concept of government.
3.- Madrid and Sabatini. Building a capital
Madrid was in 1760 a city with many problems. The most pressing was the health and hygiene of its streets, which Carlos III, with Sabatini and Esquilache, tackled decisively since 1761. This in-depth reform went hand in hand with the creation of a whole series of urban facilities that would guarantee the needs of an increasingly omnimous State: the Royal Customs to reinforce its administrative capacity; the General Hospital to centralize medical care and the Botanical Garden to invigorate its scientific policy.
The Esquilache mutiny of 1766 modified that urban policy. The king and his ministers decided from that date to also intervene in the outer spaces of the capital. On the one hand, reforming its wall, entrances and entrances, such as the Alcala or San Vicente gates, with the aim of improving the flow and circulation of people and goods. On the other, creating, through public parks and promenades, recreational spaces that, like the Paseo de la Florida, the Prado or the Buen Retiro gardens, would compensate for the political frustrations of the people of Madrid after the riot. Both, the internal reform and the external expansion of the city, find in Sabatini one of the main protagonists of the eighteenth-century urban transformation.
4.- The Royal Palace: projects and realities
When Carlos III arrived in Madrid at the end of 1759 the Royal Palace was practically finished in its construction, but the interior had to be decorated and furnished. The king, who requested to visit him immediately, was very disappointed with the result. Consequently, its designer and director of works, Sacchetti, as well as his team - in which Ventura Rodríguez was found, were fired and Sabatini, in Naples, called in to carry out the work.
During the works directed by Sabatini, the kings resided in the Buen Retiro palace, little appreciated by both monarchs. Finally, the king and his family moved to the new royal seat in December 1764, even though the stairs were not yet finished. Carlos III soon realized that the palace was not capable of meeting all the demands of his idea of majesty and therefore entrusted Sabatini with several projects to expand the palace. Although he presented different proposals, none of them came to fruition completely, despite the fact that they were necessary to accommodate his family. Carlos IV ordered Sabatini, in 1790, something much more ambitious: an «Increase» to house all the administration, Councils and ministries.
5.- The door of Alcalá
In 1769 the king asked three architects for designs for the realization of the new door of Alcalá, since the old one was too meager and did not adapt to the planned reform for the street. Those summoned were José de Hermosilla, former architect of the General Hospital and protégé of the Count of Aranda, president of the Council of Castile; Francisco Sabatini, royal architect preferred by Grimaldi, first secretary of state, and Ventura Rodríguez, municipal architect and favorite of Campomanes, prosecutor of the Council.
While we know the three alternatives presented by Sabatini and the five designed by Rodríguez, we are unfortunately unaware of those conceived by Hermosilla. Be that as it may, Carlos III opted for Sabatini, his architect, who was perfectly familiar with the Italian tradition of the urban door, traditionally used to extol the virtues of its ruler. Sabatini thus conceived an effective capital portal that, in the shape of a triumphal arch, shows the glory of the majesty of the king who ordered it to be erected.
While we know the three alternatives presented by Sabatini and the five designed by Rodríguez, we are unfortunately unaware of those conceived by Hermosilla. Be that as it may, Carlos III opted for Sabatini, his architect, who was perfectly familiar with the Italian tradition of the urban door, traditionally used to extol the virtues of its ruler. Sabatini thus conceived an effective capital portal that, in the shape of a triumphal arch, shows the glory of the majesty of the king who ordered it to be erected.
6.-Architecture and urbanism
In this section some of Sabatini's most impressive architectural projects are presented, such as the General Hospital or the Royal Customs, buildings with a great urban vocation, capable of ordering the space and imposing a monumental image of the power that builds them. All of this gives rise to later on to understand the Sabatini that intervenes in the city, already in an ephemeral way, through festive machines with a marked performative character, and in a more permanent way, with roads, doors and walls that define the environment of a town and the flow between its core and periphery.
One of his most successful and notable interventions on an urban scale is today, paradoxically, almost imperceptible, the sanitary and hygienic reform of the center of Madrid. A major and colossal work, the determination with which it was applied shows us the importance that values considered so modern already had in a past that was only apparently distant. The ignorance and disinterest with which Sabatini's work has been mistreated, therefore, does not reflect its value but simply the carelessness with which, on many occasions, the rich architectural and urban past of Madrid has been treated.
One of his most successful and notable interventions on an urban scale is today, paradoxically, almost imperceptible, the sanitary and hygienic reform of the center of Madrid. A major and colossal work, the determination with which it was applied shows us the importance that values considered so modern already had in a past that was only apparently distant. The ignorance and disinterest with which Sabatini's work has been mistreated, therefore, does not reflect its value but simply the carelessness with which, on many occasions, the rich architectural and urban past of Madrid has been treated.
7.- Intramuros, extramuros: idea, imagen y desarrollo de una capital
En el siglo XVIII, como muestra el caso de París, la muralla todavía desempeñaba un papel muy importante en la definición de la trama y organización urbana de una metrópolis. Madrid, definida por una «cerca» con múltiples puertas, aún conservaba la suya, necesaria por motivos administrativos y de orden público. Lejos de eliminar un elemento de todo punto necesario para el buen gobierno de la urbe, la monarquía empleó esta construcción para replantear una transformación en profundidad de la periferia de la villa.
Así, la reforma de las puertas y los paseos exteriores permitió que la naturaleza comenzara a cobrar protagonismo en el paisaje urbano de la ciudad, donde el río dejaba de estar marginado, integrándose ya, aunque tímidamente, en su configuración. Mientras el interior de la villa se reformó radicalmente en todos sus aspectos sanitarios y de habitabilidad, los exteriores se transformaron con el claro objetivo de convertirlos en espacios de sociabilidad ciudadana, perfecta metáfora del nacimiento de una nueva mentalidad política.
Así, la reforma de las puertas y los paseos exteriores permitió que la naturaleza comenzara a cobrar protagonismo en el paisaje urbano de la ciudad, donde el río dejaba de estar marginado, integrándose ya, aunque tímidamente, en su configuración. Mientras el interior de la villa se reformó radicalmente en todos sus aspectos sanitarios y de habitabilidad, los exteriores se transformaron con el claro objetivo de convertirlos en espacios de sociabilidad ciudadana, perfecta metáfora del nacimiento de una nueva mentalidad política.
More information
Curators
José Luis Sancho Gaspar and Ángel Martínez Díaz. Deputy Commissioner - Pablo Vázquez Gestal.
Design
Frade Arquitectos. Architect.- Juan Pablo Rodríguez Frade.
Dates
From November 5, 2021, to January 30, 2022.
Venue
Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa. Pl. de Colón, 4, 28001 Madrid, Spain.
Thanks
It has had the loan of cultural assets from various public institutions - the National Library of Spain, the National Archaeological Museum, the Prado National Museum and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, among others -, as well as the private collections Abelló, BBVA and the Caylus Gallery.
Organiza Organize
Patrimonio Nacional and Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural del Ayuntamiento de Madrid.
Francisco Sabatini
Francisco Sabatini. (Palermo, 1721 – Madrid, 1797). AArchitect and military engineer at the service of the monarchs Carlos III and Carlos IV, he was a capital figure in the second half of the Spanish eighteenth century and particularly in the city of Madrid.
Trained at the Academy of San Lucas in Rome, he was a disciple of the great Neapolitan architect and engineer Luigi Vanvitelli, under whose orders he later worked in Naples and with whose daughter he would later marry, already living in Madrid.
In 1659 Carlos de Borbón inherited the throne of Spain under the name of Carlos III and among his Italian court he chose Sabatini as a military engineer and architect, leaving the two great figures of the moment, Vanvitelli and Ferdinando Fuga, in Naples, whose influences were decisive. in the work of Sabatini.
In Madrid the new monarch disenchanted with the Royal Palace, whose work was almost finished; he fired his architect, Juan Bautista Sachetti, and replaced him with Sabatini at the head of the Palace Office with the mission of remodeling its exterior appearance and conditioning its interior. Sabatini rearranged the façade, directed the installation and decoration of the interior of the palace (projecting, among other elements, a new main staircase), expanded the building to the south with two new wings (of which only one of them was completed) that they would give rise to the current Patio de Armas; he planned an extension to the north (never carried out) and built the royal stables at the northern end of the palatial enclosure, with a capacity for five hundred horses.
With Sabatini, the Palace Office accumulated powers far beyond the work of the New Palace to extend to the reorganization of its surroundings (among whose works the Palace of the Secretaries of State stands out, which today is partially preserved and serves as the headquarters of the Center of Political and Constitutional Studies), to the various Royal Sites, and to the city of Madrid itself.
Among the first commissions of Carlos III are the tombs of Fernando VI and Bárbara de Braganza in the church of the Salesas Reales. He almost immediately designed and directed the works of the Customs House, a monumental building on Calle de Alcalá that today is occupied by the Ministry of Finance. At the same time he carried out one of the fundamental projects of the Carolino reign: the Sewerage Instructions, paving stones and court cleaning, consisting of the installation of major and minor water drainage pipes in houses, pipes and cesspools, as well as paving of sidewalks and streets that would give the city dignity and, above all, public hygiene.
A fundamental project in the new enlightened mentality that was invading both the court and the intellectuals of the kingdom, was the construction of a large General Hospital on the outskirts of the city, next to Atocha street, which would reorganize and renovate the hospital structure from the city. The works, begun by the military engineer José de Hermosilla in 1758, were taken over by Sabatini in 1769, who is the author of the plans and drawings that we know of, without today knowing exactly to what extent the paternity of the ideas belongs to one or another engineer. Excessively ambitious for a time of growing economic crisis, the work lasted beyond Sabatini's death and his original project was barely a third built. However, after a long life of effective use, the building is preserved and today it serves as the headquarters of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
That peripheral area of the city, the Salón del Prado from Atocha to Recoletos and the area near the Retiro Palace, was concentrating the efforts of the great architects of the time in Spain: José de Hermosilla, Ventura Rodríguez, Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva. Sabatini made the plans of the Royal Botanical Garden and designed its Royal Gate and its fence, as well as a chemical laboratory building that would not be realized. At the entrance to the city on the road to Alcalá, Sabatini would build what would eventually become one of the city's most iconic architectures: the Puerta de Alcalá. In a similar way and with a similar intention, although of lesser proportions, it “opened” the other end of the city with the Puerta de San Vicente as the most recognizable example of a whole landscaping project, an urban walk and the path from the Royal Palace to El Pardo.
His work for the Royal Sites was incessant and varied. In addition to minor but abundant work on conditioning, fencing, repairing ponds and pipelines in the Casa de Campo, the expansion of the El Pardo palace (which he doubled in size, and in which he directed an extraordinary decorative project of its interiors, stands out). ) and carried out an urban project for its population; and the enlargement of the Aranjuez palace, from whose main façade he extended the two large wings that provide the front of the palace with monumentality and give rise to the large entrance plaza.
The immense work developed by Sabatini includes, finally, architecture, interior design and furniture pieces (stone benches in the gardens of Aranjuez, tapestry decoration in the rooms of El Escorial, etc.), rehabilitation and consolidation of buildings, and the abundant works of civil and military engineering. Among the latter, the layouts and adaptation of roads stand out, especially those that communicated to the Royal Sites, the construction of the San Gil Cavalry Academy (or Leganitos, demolished in 1906 - 1910, located in what is now the Plaza de Spain) the Walonas de Leganés guards barracks (current Carlos III University) and innumerable military projects throughout the kingdom such as the port of Santander, the defensive structure of the city of Manila, the fortification of Cavite, the new city of Guatemala, And a long etcetera.
He also developed an abundant work of rehabilitation and construction of religious architecture, especially of temples and religious communities hosted by the royal patronage. Among many other works, the main altarpiece of the Cathedral of Segovia, that of the disappeared Madrid church of San Felipe Neri, his project and direction of works for the Chapel of Venerable Palafox in the cathedral of Burgo de Osma, and his intervention in the church and convent of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid, of which, among other elements, he designed and built its monumental façade and towers.
Trained at the Academy of San Lucas in Rome, he was a disciple of the great Neapolitan architect and engineer Luigi Vanvitelli, under whose orders he later worked in Naples and with whose daughter he would later marry, already living in Madrid.
In 1659 Carlos de Borbón inherited the throne of Spain under the name of Carlos III and among his Italian court he chose Sabatini as a military engineer and architect, leaving the two great figures of the moment, Vanvitelli and Ferdinando Fuga, in Naples, whose influences were decisive. in the work of Sabatini.
In Madrid the new monarch disenchanted with the Royal Palace, whose work was almost finished; he fired his architect, Juan Bautista Sachetti, and replaced him with Sabatini at the head of the Palace Office with the mission of remodeling its exterior appearance and conditioning its interior. Sabatini rearranged the façade, directed the installation and decoration of the interior of the palace (projecting, among other elements, a new main staircase), expanded the building to the south with two new wings (of which only one of them was completed) that they would give rise to the current Patio de Armas; he planned an extension to the north (never carried out) and built the royal stables at the northern end of the palatial enclosure, with a capacity for five hundred horses.
With Sabatini, the Palace Office accumulated powers far beyond the work of the New Palace to extend to the reorganization of its surroundings (among whose works the Palace of the Secretaries of State stands out, which today is partially preserved and serves as the headquarters of the Center of Political and Constitutional Studies), to the various Royal Sites, and to the city of Madrid itself.
Among the first commissions of Carlos III are the tombs of Fernando VI and Bárbara de Braganza in the church of the Salesas Reales. He almost immediately designed and directed the works of the Customs House, a monumental building on Calle de Alcalá that today is occupied by the Ministry of Finance. At the same time he carried out one of the fundamental projects of the Carolino reign: the Sewerage Instructions, paving stones and court cleaning, consisting of the installation of major and minor water drainage pipes in houses, pipes and cesspools, as well as paving of sidewalks and streets that would give the city dignity and, above all, public hygiene.
A fundamental project in the new enlightened mentality that was invading both the court and the intellectuals of the kingdom, was the construction of a large General Hospital on the outskirts of the city, next to Atocha street, which would reorganize and renovate the hospital structure from the city. The works, begun by the military engineer José de Hermosilla in 1758, were taken over by Sabatini in 1769, who is the author of the plans and drawings that we know of, without today knowing exactly to what extent the paternity of the ideas belongs to one or another engineer. Excessively ambitious for a time of growing economic crisis, the work lasted beyond Sabatini's death and his original project was barely a third built. However, after a long life of effective use, the building is preserved and today it serves as the headquarters of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
That peripheral area of the city, the Salón del Prado from Atocha to Recoletos and the area near the Retiro Palace, was concentrating the efforts of the great architects of the time in Spain: José de Hermosilla, Ventura Rodríguez, Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva. Sabatini made the plans of the Royal Botanical Garden and designed its Royal Gate and its fence, as well as a chemical laboratory building that would not be realized. At the entrance to the city on the road to Alcalá, Sabatini would build what would eventually become one of the city's most iconic architectures: the Puerta de Alcalá. In a similar way and with a similar intention, although of lesser proportions, it “opened” the other end of the city with the Puerta de San Vicente as the most recognizable example of a whole landscaping project, an urban walk and the path from the Royal Palace to El Pardo.
His work for the Royal Sites was incessant and varied. In addition to minor but abundant work on conditioning, fencing, repairing ponds and pipelines in the Casa de Campo, the expansion of the El Pardo palace (which he doubled in size, and in which he directed an extraordinary decorative project of its interiors, stands out). ) and carried out an urban project for its population; and the enlargement of the Aranjuez palace, from whose main façade he extended the two large wings that provide the front of the palace with monumentality and give rise to the large entrance plaza.
The immense work developed by Sabatini includes, finally, architecture, interior design and furniture pieces (stone benches in the gardens of Aranjuez, tapestry decoration in the rooms of El Escorial, etc.), rehabilitation and consolidation of buildings, and the abundant works of civil and military engineering. Among the latter, the layouts and adaptation of roads stand out, especially those that communicated to the Royal Sites, the construction of the San Gil Cavalry Academy (or Leganitos, demolished in 1906 - 1910, located in what is now the Plaza de Spain) the Walonas de Leganés guards barracks (current Carlos III University) and innumerable military projects throughout the kingdom such as the port of Santander, the defensive structure of the city of Manila, the fortification of Cavite, the new city of Guatemala, And a long etcetera.
He also developed an abundant work of rehabilitation and construction of religious architecture, especially of temples and religious communities hosted by the royal patronage. Among many other works, the main altarpiece of the Cathedral of Segovia, that of the disappeared Madrid church of San Felipe Neri, his project and direction of works for the Chapel of Venerable Palafox in the cathedral of Burgo de Osma, and his intervention in the church and convent of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid, of which, among other elements, he designed and built its monumental façade and towers.
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