The archives
General presentation
Founded in 1920 and inaugurated in 1928, Casa de Velázquez is both a center for research in the humanities and social sciences and a space for artistic creation. It is a unique model, whose specific features are reflected in its archives. They are the main source of knowledge on its century of existence, its activities and its leading role in bilateral exchanges between France and Spain.
Casa de Velázquez's archives include paper and digital documents, as well as a large collection of photographs, plans and slides.
The archives cover the period from the late 1920s to the present day, although some of them predate the founding of the institution, and there are gaps due to the destruction of the first building during the Spanish Civil War.
The documents conserved are gradually being classified and published on the archimage platform.
Archive consultation
Documents may be consulted by appointment, Monday to Friday, in the reading room of the Casa de Velázquez library.
The archives held by Casa de Velázquez may only be consulted in accordance with the provisions of current legislation, in particular the Heritage Code, the Intellectual Property Code, the Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration, and the Research Code.
The archives department
Created in 2019 under the impetus of Michel Bertrand, then director, the archives department is attached to the library team.
Its mission is to :
- Collect, classify, package and preserve documents produced or received by the establishment,
- make them accessible and promote them.
The collections cover the activities of all Casa entities: the Management, administrative, financial and accounting departments, theÉcole des Hautes Études Hispaniques et Ibériques (EHEHI), theAcadémie de France à Madrid (AFM), the Library and the Publications department.
The administrative archives currently represent almost 200 linear meters. A first inventory was carried out in 2015, followed by a major classification and packaging project starting in 2019.
- Management archives: 325 items, covering 16 linear meters. These are the oldest documents in the collection.
- Administrative Services archives: mainly related to human resources and asset management (real estate and furniture). 166 items, 55 of which are already online, for a total of around 7 linear meters.
An online inventory is available for these sets.
The EHEHI, AFM, Library and Publications archives are currently being processed.
As part of the collaboration between the French schools abroad, the Hypothèse notebook "Zoom sur les fonds et activités des archives des Écoles françaises à l'étranger" has been created. This research notebook highlights documents held in the archives and collections of each school.
Casa de Velázquez also holds archives from its archaeological activities on the Iberian Peninsula, in particular at Baelo Claudia (1917 - late 1980s). This collection includes :
- excavation diaries and reports,
- correspondence,
- photographs.
These archives cover some 10 linear meters and are supplemented by those of the Institut de Recherche sur l'Architecture Antique de Pau, which also carried out excavations on the site. Together, they total over 22,000 documents.
Their processing (classification, digitization, packaging) is supported by CollEx-Persée, with the participation of numerous partners: EHEHI, IRAA de Pau, Centro documental de Arqueología y Patrimonio (UAM), MSH Mondes, Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger..
Casa de Velázquez holds several thousand photographs, old and new, printed and digital. Some are originals, others are reprints commissioned to fill gaps in the collection. They provide invaluable insight into the life of the institution since its creation.
Casa de Velázquez accepts donations of private archives, subject to certain conditions.