Spain Guide
Cantabria and Asturias
Museo de Bellas Artes
Address: Palacio de Velarde, c/Santa Ana, and other buildings near cathedral
Opening time: July & Aug Tues– Sat 10.30am–2pm & 4.30–8pm, Sun 10.30am–2.30pm; Sept– June Tues– Fri 10.30am–2pm & 4.30–8.30pm, Sat 11.30am–2pm & 5–8pm, Sun 11.30am–2.30pm
Price: free
Highlights of the bold collection of contemporary Spanish art in the Museo de Bellas Artes are housed on the top floor of the eighteenth-century Palacio de Velarde: Picasso's Mosquetero con Espada y Amorcillo is a gleeful take on historical portraiture, while Dalí's lyrical Metamorfosis de Angeles has an unusually muted palette of browns and blues. The c/Santa Ana entrance brings you directly to another gem of the collection: El Greco's sombre portraits of the twelve Apostles (1585–90), which favour psychological depth over symbolism.