Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum. Lis House

The Casa Lis is an urban mansion built upon the city's ancient wall, commissioned by Don Miguel de Lis (1855-1909). The individual tasked with carrying out this project was Joaquín de Vargas y Aguirre (1857-1935), a native of Jerez de la Frontera, who arrived in Salamanca to take up the post of provincial architect. Don Miguel de Lis owned a tannery he had inherited from his father, which he adapted to new production systems in the last decade of the 19th century. This prosperous business afforded him a comfortable economic position, making Don Miguel, at the time he constructed his new urban palace, one of Salamanca's hundred largest taxpayers. Defined as a skilled businessman and an indefatigable worker, his "modern" character can be appreciated in the conception of his new residence.

Don Miguel de Lis and his wife
Don Miguel de Lis and his wife, Dolores Primo, at Casa Lis. Photography: Gombau Archive. Castilla y León Regional Film Archive.
Old south facade of the Casa Lis building
Old south facade of the Casa Lis building. Photography: Gombau Archive. Castilla y León Regional Film Archive.
The characteristics of the plot on which Casa Lis was built (irregular, situated on a wall, and with a steep slope on its south side) could initially have been limitations, but they were masterfully resolved by Joaquín de Vargas. Vargas organized the entire dwelling around an interior patio that serves to distribute the rooms, and he designed a facade built with iron and glass, following the precepts of industrial architecture. To overcome the existing slope down to the current Rector Esperabé Promenade, he devised a staircase that allowed for the creation of terraced gardens and a grotto covered with rockery, which lightens the overall structure. The result is one of the few examples of industrial architecture used for residential purposes, unique for its spectacular nature and the architectural boldness with which Vargas was able to resolve the project's constraints.

But Casa Lis holds another surprise: its north facade is one of the few examples of Art Nouveau architecture that can be found in Salamanca. Built of stone and brick, its entrance door stands out, as does the organic movement of its iron railings, displaying a delightful Art Nouveau delicacy. The construction of Casa Lis must have been rapid; in 1905 the north facade was rebuilt, and in 1906 the residence was inaugurated. Inside, the house featured summer and winter rooms, the former on the ground floor and the latter on the main floor. Among other dependencies, it included an office, dining rooms, an oratory, a bathroom with hot and cold running water, several lounges, and a conservatory. The residence was illuminated with electric light, and the decor was in the Art Nouveau style, featuring artistic stained-glass windows in the patio gallery, the doors, and the main staircase's skylight.

Old interior patio of Casa Lis
Old interior patio of Casa Lis. Photography: Gombau Archive. Castilla y León Regional Film Archive.
The palace-house changed owners in 1917, when Don Enrique Esperabé de Arteaga (1869-1966), future rector of the University of Salamanca, moved in with his family. Afterwards, Casa Lis was inhabited by various tenants until, in the 1970s, closed and unused, it began a period of decline and degradation. Thus, although Casa Lis experienced an era of splendor, it also fell victim to a period of abandonment that nearly led to its disappearance. In 1981, the Salamanca City Council, aware of the property's value, initiated an expropriation process that managed to save it from ruin.

Currently, the building is the headquarters of the Art Nouveau and Art Déco Museum, and its lounges and dependencies exhibit part of the collections donated by Don Manuel Ramos Andrade (1944-1998), an antique dealer and collector who saw Casa Lis, with its restored splendor, reopen its doors in 1995, this time to display its unique collections in Spain. Today, a large leaded stained-glass window, created by the Villaplana workshop following designs by Don Manuel Ramos Andrade, covers the central patio. The skylights and enclosures elaborated in the same workshop have restored the artistic stained-glass windows that already adorned Don Miguel de Lis's residence in 1906, and the south facade, with its delightful chromaticism, has become one of Salamanca's most emblematic images.

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 exhibition "Lis... a Journey Through Time" is a tribute to the two great figures of the House, Miguel de Lis and Joaquín de Vargas, showcasing photographs taken by Venancio Gombau in 1908 alongside various pieces from the Museum's collections that have either never been exhibited before or were acquired in recent years.
Visitors can experience this at the Museum, in conjunction with the permanent exhibition and the services of the Café and Lis Shop, with extended summer hours: Monday to Sunday from 11 AM to 8 PM.
The Museum will also open the Lis Terrace starting Thursday, July 4th, a space that can be enjoyed from Thursday to Saturday between 8:30 PM and midnight.
Lis House can also be visited until midnight on Saturdays in July with its special night admission, which includes access to both the permanent and temporary exhibitions, and concerts on the evenings of July 6, 13, 20, and 27.
(Salamanca, July 3, 2024) The Art Nouveau and Art Déco Museum today offers all its visitors a "Journey Through Time," an experience that will transport them to the origins of Lis House through its new temporary exhibition, allowing them to marvel at the beauty and grandeur with which it was conceived during its period of maximum splendor. Built between 1897 and 1905 by architect Joaquín de Vargas y Aguirre (1857-1935) and commissioned by Salamanca industrialist Miguel de Lis de la Puebla (1855-1909), Lis House was photographed by Venancio Gombau (1861-1929) around 1908. This graphic testimony illustrates the journey to the past in the "Lis... a Journey Through Time" exhibition, alongside various pieces from the Museum's collections that have either never been exhibited or have been acquired in recent years. Additionally, one of the pieces, the bust of Joaquín de Vargas created by Aniceto Marinas, has been loaned for the exhibition by his descendant, Joaquín de Vargas de la Rúa.