In October, HRH Queen Sofía will open the Cultural Centre that bears her name and which will feature the works of Juan Luis Vasallo, one of the leading Spanish sculptors of the 20th century.

Creator of The Minerva at Madrid's Circulo de Bellas Artes, Juan Luis always wanted his work to be exhibited in the city where he was born. Therefore and thanks to the generosity of his family, his sculptures will be in the courtyard, on the staircases and on the second floor of the former headquarters of Cadiz’s Military Government, an important neo-classical building, built overlooking the sea in 1759.

The Vasallo Museum will include 140 works and twenty original drawings donated by the family of this artist who worked in every type of medium possible.

Responsible for reviving figurative sculptures in Spain, Vasallo produced a large number of public monuments in Madrid, Seville, Jerez, Ubeda, Utrera and Aracena. Some of which, such as the statute of Saint Theresa of Avila or Picasso's bust at the Museum in Malaga, are extremely well known.

Portrait artist of King Juan Carlos I, the bullfighter Juan Belmonte or the writer José María Pemán, Vasallo worked in wood, stone, marble, plaster and clay. He became a multi-talented sculpture and painter with a wide repertoire that ranges from nudes to religious images.

A cultural landmark

The Reina Sofía Cultural Centre in Cadiz will house the Vasallo Museum and will also be the new location of the Hispano-American Royal Academy, the Cadiz Academy, the Military Library, the Federico Joly Foundation, the Galván Engraving Workshop and the Municipal Culture Foundation.

Under the aegis of Cadiz Town Council, the adaptation of the building has cost over three million euros. The work has mainly been financed by the Cultur-Cad project, a programme implemented with EU funds and distributed by Cadiz Provincial Council's Institute for Employment and Development among the municipalities to enhance the province’s cultural and historical heritage.