Spain’s newest art destination is taking shape inside a former bank, now reopened as a public arts centre after decades of keeping its collection largely out of sight. Major works by Rubens, Goya and Velázquez sit alongside paintings by Frida Kahlo, Picasso, Miró, Titian and Sorolla.
It is a notable moment for culture in northern Spain, particularly as several of the paintings are being shown publicly for the first time, according to The Times.
Spain’s newest art destination
The setting is Santander, the capital of Cantabria on Spain’s north coast. Faro Santander occupies Banco Santander’s former waterfront headquarters, close to the city’s bay.
The bank set the redevelopment in motion in 2021 and brought in British architect David Chipperfield. The building’s neo-Renaissance exterior has been preserved, while its internal spaces have been remade for exhibitions and public use.
Santander is often associated with ferry crossings, its wide bay and El Sardinero beach. Faro Santander adds a serious arts venue to the central waterfront, centred on a collection that was previously difficult for the public to access.
A collection previously kept near Madrid
The Banco Santander Collection includes more than 1,000 works, gathered across the bank’s history since 1857.
At Faro Santander, artworks rotate across several floors of the bank’s old city-centre building. It creates a permanent public setting for works that had been held in a corporate environment.
Long-hidden works by Rubens, Goya and Velázquez
Rubens’ Samson and the Lion is among the principal works on display. The painting shows the biblical Samson in combat with a lion.
It is displayed alongside Goya’s 1795 portrait Don Valentin Bellvis de Moncada y Pizarro and Velázquez’s Tears of St Peter, painted in Seville in 1617.
The collection also includes two El Greco paintings: The Annunciation and Christ Crucified with Toledo in the Background. The latter has reportedly been displayed publicly only once since the early 17th century.
Other names in the collection include Joaquín Sorolla, Pablo Picasso, Titian and Joan Miró. The programme also contains Frida Kahlo works, including at least two paintings being exhibited outside Mexico for the first time.
What is inside Faro Santander
Faro Santander combines the bank’s art collection with installations and temporary exhibitions.
On the lower floor, El Cubo is an LED installation with a 40-minute, 360-degree film on the history of the building. The film covers events including a ship explosion, a fire and periods of war.
- The first floor is dedicated to modern Cantabrian art and the Modern Mexico in the Gelman Santander Collection exhibition.
- The third floor contains construction toys and material connected with the artist Leonora Carrington.
- The fourth floor presents a changing selection of works from the Banco Santander Collection, including Samson and the Lion.
The building also contains a restaurant run by Santander chef Nacho del Corral, a café and a roof terrace with views over Santander Bay.
Santander’s growing cultural scene
Faro Santander arrives as several cultural projects are taking shape around the city.
The Renzo Piano-designed Centro Botín is around 150 metres away. The venue explores human creativity at a time when artificial intelligence can generate still and moving images.
The Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria is undergoing an expansion. Meanwhile, Madrid’s Reina Sofía Museum is due to open its first Santander outpost next year in the former Bank of Spain building. The museum’s Madrid site holds Picasso’s Guernica.
The red-ochre cave paintings at Altamira lie around half an hour west of Santander. In Gamazo, behind the beach, the Enaire Foundation keeps a contemporary collection linked to Spanish airports.
Planning a cultural break in Santander
Admission to Faro Santander is £12, falling to £6 for Santander Bank customers.
Santander can be reached by flight or ferry. Its new gallery, continuing museum projects and position on the Cantabrian coast give the city a wider cultural itinerary alongside its familiar seafront and beach.
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