The Palacio de Liria becomes the stage for a journey through history, art, and the heritage of one of the most recognizable figures of Spanish aristocracy. On the occasion of the centenary of Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart’s birth, The Casa de Alba Foundation inaugurates Cayetana. Grande de España, an exhibition that gathers more than 200 pieces to reconstruct the vital and cultural trajectory of the eighteenth Duchess of Alba. The exhibition can be visited from October 1 to January 31 and arrives in Madrid after its run at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, where it received 150,000 visitors.
The project, the fruit of more than three years of research, is curated by Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, daughter of the duchess, and Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz. Through seven thematic sections, the exhibition gathers works of art, photographs, correspondence, historical documents, dresses, and personal objects that allow approaching the various facets of Cayetana. Beyond her biography, the journey concentrates on her relationship with culture, her role as patron and collector, and her contribution to the preservation of the heritage of the Casa de Alba.
A life linked to art and culture
The exhibition deals with the influence that her father, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, exerted on Cayetana, as well as the cosmopolitan formation that marked her trajectory. Her interest in art and travel, together with her responsibility at the head of one of the great historic patrimonies of Spain, constitutes one of the show’s axes. Throughout the journey, visitors will also discover her aspect as a painter and collector, as well as her ties to disciplines such as opera, cinema, flamenco, and fashion. The show thus advocates for a figure who managed to blend the tradition of her lineage with an open view to the cultural manifestations of her time.
Image of the exhibition
Photography holds a prominent place in this proposal. Cayetana was photographed by some of the leading names in international photography, among them Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Henry Clarke, and Juan Gyenes. Since childhood, when she posed for artists such as Mariano Benlliure and Ignacio Zuloaga, her image has been closely linked to the world of art. The research carried out for the exhibition has also made it possible to recover part of the Casa de Alba’s documentary and photographic patrimony. Among the materials gathered is correspondence related to international personalities such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Jackie Kennedy, which helps contextualize the duchess’s social and cultural projection.
The Palacio de Liria, part of the exhibition
One of the Madrid edition’s major novelties is the incorporation of a section dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the reconstruction of the Palacio de Liria, one of Cayetana de Alba’s most important life projects. The building was severely destroyed in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War. Its reconstruction was led by her father, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, who commissioned the project to the British architect Edwin Lutyens. Work began in 1952, but after the duke’s death in 1953, Cayetana, together with her husband, Luis Martínez de Irujo, assumed responsibility for completing it in 1956.
Image of the exhibition
The exhibition recovers photographs and documents, some unpublished, that allow reconstructing that process and understanding the work carried out to recover interiors and reorganize the artistic collections. The palace itself thus takes on a leading role in the journey, becoming a direct testimony of one of the fundamental chapters in the history of the Casa de Alba.
The show also addresses Cayetana’s charitable work and her defense of animals, two aspects that complete the portrait of a figure whose career was closely tied to culture and to Spanish historical heritage. To accompany the visit, the exhibition features an audio guide narrated by Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, which offers a personal perspective on her mother’s life. Additionally, for the occasion of the show, Assouline has published Cayetana, the Duchess of Alba: Art, Aristocracy and the Soul of Spain, a book written by Cristina Carrillo de Albornoz that gathers family photographs, some unpublished, images of the palaces, and documents related to the duchess’s public and private life.
With this exhibition, the Palacio de Liria recovers some of the most important episodes of its history and proposes an approach to Cayetana de Alba from an artistic and patrimonial perspective. A journey that allows understanding both her role in preserving the family legacy and her relationship with the culture of her time.
