That's how it was...Exhibition: Ventura Rodríguez. Architect of the Enlightenment

Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (Ciempozuelos, 1717 - Madrid, 1785) is considered one of the most important and influential architects of 18th-century Spain. He trained on the Royal Sites under the Italians Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, particularly on the project for the New Royal Palace of Madrid, where he was appointed as the first draftsman. Throughout his life, he perfected a personal style, representative of the synthesis of his Baroque and academic convictions, which is evident in his work scattered throughout Spain.

Ventura Rodríguez addressed all areas of his profession: he designed palaces, villas and showed a special dedication to civil works, including ephemeral architectures, ornaments and fountains with special urban significance, as occurs in the Paseo del Prado in Madrid.

He developed numerous projects and constructions, being during the reign of Fernando VI an outstanding figure at the service of the architecture of the Crown. Replaced by the figure of Sabatini during the reign of Carlos III, he turned to the service of the town of Madrid as a senior teacher of the City Council, since he occupied from 1764 until the end of his life; working also for the Council and the Chamber of Castile and as director of the Architecture room of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, in addition to being open to commissions from individuals.

Ventura Rodríguez's work can be found in numerous buildings and corners of the Madrid region, with such emblematic works as the Cibeles, Apollo and Neptune fountains on the Paseo del Prado, the church of San Marcos or the palace of the Infante Don Luis de Borbón in Boadilla del Monte.

The exhibition brought together more than 150 original pieces, some of them previously unseen or never before exhibited, from national and international institutions and private collections. Among the highlights were Francisco de Goya's painting "The Infante Don Luis Antonio de Borbón"; the plan and elevation of the Holy Chapel of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, created by Ventura Rodríguez between 1750 and 1753; the portrait of the architect executed in 1794 by Zacarías González Velázquez; and the decoration of the Puerta del Sol on the occasion of the entry of Charles III into Madrid in 1760, attributed to Lorenzo Quirós and dated around 1760-1763. 

The exhibition, curated by Delfín Rodríguez, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, also featured a large audiovisual display, through which part of Ventura Rodríguez's projected but unbuilt work was recreated for the first time, specifically the project presented by the architect in 1748 to enter the Accademia di San Luca Roca, centered around a cathedral that was a synthesis of his baroque and academic convictions.