History

Museo Cabañas, whose main premises are Hospicio Cabañas [Cabañas Orphanage], owes its name to Bishop Juan Cruz Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo, who arrived to Mexico in 1796 and his purpose was the construction of a shelter for orphan children, elder citizens and forsaken people. Bishop Cabañas requested Valencian architect Manuel Tolsá to design this important project, and Tolsá put his student José Gutiérrez in charge of the execution. Because of its neoclassical architecture style, Hospicio Cabañas is one of the most significant and emblematic buildings in Jalisco and Mexico. In it have been registered the most important political and social events of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Since 1980, Museo Cabañas has been presenting exhibits, both from local, national and foreign artists. In its educational offer it counts with talks, conferences, workshops and round tables conceived for the general public.

A World Heritage Site

Museo Cabañas’ building is considered one of the most important ones in neoclassical architecture in Mexico. It is located on a 23,447 square meters [252,381 square feet] surface. Its symmetrical layout is divided by the major chapel’s Tuscan-style cross, enlivened by walled arches.

Its façade is distinguished by an even pediment held by six Doric columns.

In a secondary plane the major chapel’s dome stands out, upheld by two concentric circles of Doric and Ionic columns, topped with a 5-meter-tall lantern.

Inside are found 23 courtyards of different sizes, surrounded by 72 hallways covered and delimited by Tuscan-style arches and columns that communicate the 126 rooms that once harbored up to three thousand children.

At the back of the building can be noted a second chapel, of greater sobriety than the first, and was employed as the orphanage’s refectory.

In 1980 it was mediated to make it a space dedicated to the diffusion of the arts.

Since its registration to the International Council of Museums, Museo Cabañas has undertaken a series of modifications as part of a reinforcement and growth project, aiming to hold world-class exhibits and to contribute to the preservation and enjoyment of this cultural and historical heritage.

Due to its architectural beauty and historical and cultural importance, the building was declared part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

Our museum is property of the State of Jalisco. It is protected as a historical monument by the Ley Federal de Zonas y Monumentos Arqueológicos, Artísticos e Históricos de 1972 [Federal Archeological, Artistic, and Historical Areas, Sites, and Landmarks Law of 1972], which establishes strict controls on interventions. The technical responsibility of its conservation and restoration is in charge of the Secretariat of Culture, Government of Jalisco, with the technical support of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura [National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature] (INBAL).

Both the murals and the building itself must maintain the museum’s space conditions, according to the technical requirements for the collections’ safety and preservation, without affecting its patrimonial condition.