DOS New ways of seeing Classical Antiquity: Pompeii through the Madrazo Archive

Abstract

The Madrazo´s occupied positions of great relevance within the Spanish artistic and cultural panorama from the end of the 18th century and for much of the following century, which allowed them to have access, sometimes as a result of chance, to the real Antiquity that was emerging, with the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum. This article focuses on this aspect that has been little or nothing discussed about them, which is having been privileged witnesses and chroniclers of fundamental episodes of the rediscovery of classical antiquity and studying how it is reflected in their personal documentation and archive. This particular approach is carried out through letters and photographs that express better than any medium his interest, or at least his initial curiosity and his training in classical themes.