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The Liria Palace inaugurates its new annual 'Guest Work' program
The Palacio de Liria launches a new annual program under the title Invited work, an initiative of the Casa de Alba Foundation that was born with the purpose of generating unprecedented dialogues between the Casa de Alba collection and pieces from other private collections or cultural institutions.
This project seeks to bring to the public little-known works, often inaccessible outside their private context, and to enrich the palace's discourse with new historical, artistic and symbolic readings.
First work: The Third Dukes of Alba
The first guest work is a double portrait of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba, and his wife María Enríquez de Toledo, provided by the Duke of Pastrana's collection.
The piece has been restored in the Liria Palace by the Casa de Alba Foundation and specialists have dated it in the Spanish school from the beginning of the 17th century. Its incorporation is especially valuable, since it is the First known portrait of the Duchess and one of the few that represent the Grand Duke's wife.
In the painting, the duke appears in his military facet, wearing gala armor, the necklace of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece, the general's band and a command staff, following the courtly portrait model created by Willem Key in 1568. In front of him, the Duchess wears white damask saya, adorned with pearls, and holds a prayer book, evoking the fashion of the years of Empress Isabella of Portugal.
A Dialogue with Rubens
The portrait of the 3rd Dukes is on display in the Liria Flamenco Hall, together with the famous portrait of Carlos V and Isabella of Portugal painted by Rubens around 1628 and belonging to the Casa de Alba collection.
The placement of both works provides a unique visual encounter, where the visitor can observe how two very different artists, inspired by the same model of Titian now lost, reinterpreted courtly portraiture in two different periods: the Renaissance and the Baroque.
This confrontation invites us to reflect on the evolution of the conventions of representation in court and on the symbolic dimension of portraiture as an affirmation of power, lineage and memory.
A heritage in constant dialogue
The program Invited work not only does it enrich the experience of visiting the Liria Palace, but it also reinforces the idea that the Casa de Alba collection is a living and open heritage, in continuous dialogue with other collections and with their time.
The result of more than five centuries of patronage and artistic sensitivity, the collection brings together works by great masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Murillo, Rubens, Tiziano, Ingres or Sorolla, together with classical sculptures, tapestries, decorative arts and a valuable historical archive.
In this framework, Invited work is conceived as an opportunity to Multiply the readings of the whole and offer the visitor new perspectives that connect past and present, tradition and discovery.
Practical Information
The first edition of Invited work can be visited in the Flamenco Hall of the Liria Palace from October 1, 2025 to February, 2026.
👉 Book your visit to the Liria Palace and discover this exceptional dialogue between collections.