CASA DE LIS

The Casa de Lis is considered the most outstanding modernist work in Salamanca. This urban mansion, built on a section of the old city wall, was commissioned by Miguel de Lis (1855‑1909), a wealthy industrialist who prospered thanks to the modernization of the tannery he had inherited from his father. His good economic situation allowed him to undertake the construction of a residence in line with the new architectural trends of the late 19th century.

The project was entrusted to Joaquín de Vargas y Aguirre (1857‑1935), an architect from Jerez who had arrived in Salamanca to take up the post of provincial architect. Both he and Miguel de Lis were aware of the innovations of European modernism, especially that which developed in Belgium, which decisively influenced the design of the building.

Miguel de Lis's stay in the house was brief: he passed away in 1909, barely three years after its inauguration. The property remained in his family's hands until 1917, when it was acquired by Enrique Esperabé de Arteaga (1869‑1966), future rector of the University of Salamanca, who settled there with his family. Later, the house passed through different tenants and, by the 1970s, it was closed and unused, beginning a period of deterioration that jeopardized its survival. In 1981, the Salamanca City Council initiated an expropriation process to prevent its ruin. Although it was initially thought to convert it into a cultural center, the donation of Manuel Ramos Andrade's valuable collection guided the project towards the creation of the Art Nouveau and Art Déco Museum.

To adapt the building to its new function, the Casa Lis underwent extensive renovation carried out by architects Javier Gómez Riesco and Francisco Morón. Stained glass windows made by master glazier Juan Villaplana were incorporated, including the spectacular polychrome stained glass window covering the central courtyard, composed of more than two thousand pieces of glass and designed by Ramos Andrade himself.

The museum opened its doors in 1995 and is managed by the Ramos Andrade Foundation, whose board of trustees includes the city councils of Salamanca and Navasfrías, as well as the University of Salamanca.

Across its nineteen collections, a journey through its halls showcases to visitors the production of European decorative arts workshops from the Nouveau and Déco periods. Jewellery by Masriera or Faberge, iridescent glass from the Loetz, Kralik, Pallme König workshops or the Nancy school with pieces by Émile Gallé, the Daum Brothers or Paul Nicolas. Furniture by Homar, Majorelle, Busquets. Porcelains by Rosenthal, Royal Copenhagen, Mariano Benlliure, Gustave Guetant or Zuloaga. The treasures held by Casa Lis highlight the careers of important artists such as Émile Gallé with his layered glass and exquisite furniture, or the evolution of Rene Lalique, who, starting from Art Nouveau jewellery, directed his creativity towards glass design in subsequent decades.

Also noteworthy is the collection of 19th-century French porcelain dolls, which experts have defined as the best collection exhibited to the public worldwide, or the display of chryselephantine sculptures by Demetre Chiparus or Ferdinand Preiss, small sculptures that combine metal for the garments and ivory for the bare parts of the body such as the face or hands, and which have become an icon of Art Deco.

THE BUILDING Joaquín de Vargas took advantage of the rocky escarpment of the Teso de las Catedrales to erect the spectacular south facade, conceived as a viewpoint towards the river. A large retaining wall, topped by a wide terraced area, leads to a garden with an ornamental grotto from which an imposing stairway, in the manner of an imperial staircase, splits into two sections that ascend almost vertically to the viewpoint.

The facade is organized into two superimposed iron gallery floors, with a central body that protrudes as a viewpoint and features semicircular arches supported by columns. They were built in Moneo's foundries in Salamanca and constitute the best example of iron architecture in Salamanca. Beneath the galleries extends a frieze of tiles with Neo-Plateresque decoration, a work by Daniel de Zuloaga.

The date engraved on the north facade indicates that the house was completed in 1905. On this facade, Joaquín de Vargas created the best example of Salamanca modernism. Here, he combined Villamayor sandstone with brick. It is preceded by a wall topped by oval-shaped railings, decorated with the characteristic “whiplash effect.” The arched door is inspired by modernist entrances built in Belgium at the same time.

The interior is articulated around a central rectangular patio, surrounded by two floors of glazed galleries supported by cast-iron columns. Originally, this space was an open patio, with a fountain and garden, following the model of Andalusian patios. Today it is covered by a Tiffany-style leaded stained-glass window representing the firmament. It was designed by Manuel Ramos Andrade and created by Juan Villaplana in 1995, as were the rest of the stained-glass windows that give the building the wonderful chromaticism it lacked in its origins.

THE COLLECTIONS Inside, there are approximately 2,500 pieces dated between the late 19th and the 1930s, most of them from the meticulous collecting work of Ramos Andrade. His profession as an antique dealer, the continuous trips he undertook, and his dedication to a style then little appreciated in Spain gave him the opportunity to examine thousands of objects and choose only those he considered true masterpieces.

The museum's itinerary, articulated in nineteen distinct collections, allows visitors to discover the production of the most outstanding European workshops of decorative arts linked to Art Nouveau and Art Déco. Especially noteworthy is the collection of chryselephantines, delicate sculptures combining ivory and bronze that mostly depict dancers or circus figures captured in full motion. European artists, taking advantage of abundant ivory stocks from the colonies, revived this technique inherited from the classical world, replacing traditional gold with bronze. The collection preserved by the Museum is the most important in the world in a public institution, both for its excellent state of preservation and for the quality and rigor of its selection. It features the most relevant artists of the genre, such as Colinet, Preiss, R. Paris, or Chiparus, of whom the best existing collection is exhibited.

The visitor can admire nearly two hundred pieces of glass, including an exquisite selection of lamps and acid-etched and bent glass vases by the Frenchman Émile Gallé; frosted glass paste sculptures and vases by René Lalique; and the creations of the Austrian Loetz, famous for his metallic reflection technique. Added to these are the glazed and lustered vases by Zsolnay, the magnificent glass pieces by the Daum brothers, perfume bottles, translucent and iridescent crystal figures, lamps, and table sets.

The porcelain doll collection, with about four hundred pieces, is considered the best public display in the world. They come from the main French (Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier), German (Steiner, Simon & Halbig, Kestner), and Italian (Lenci) manufacturers.

The museum also has a distinguished selection of furniture created by artists from the French School of Nancy, such as Émile Gallé and Louis Majorelle, as well as from the Catalan School, represented by Gaspar Homar and Joan Busquets. To these are added paintings by Josep Maria Tamburini, Beltrán Massés and the artist from Ciudad Rodrigo Celso Lagar, which further enrich the artistic journey.

The Museum exhibits jewelry by René Lalique, Luis Masriera, and an Easter egg by the Russian Carl Fabergé, who worked for both the Russian Imperial House and the European upper bourgeoisie. It boasts important porcelains from Sèvres and from the Italian schools of Capodimonte and Lenci. The collection is completed by Limoges enamels, Viennese bronzes, fans, handkerchiefs, a complete circus of felt dolls by the German firm Steiff, “bath beauties” figures, Haguenaur sculptures, and various ornamental pieces.