ALTARPIECE OF THE HOLY INFANT'S CHILDHOOD

BACKGROUND 

The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, Bilbao, was founded in September, 1961. Its objective was to both to safeguard the artistic heritage of the Diocese from being stolen while preventing the deterioration to which many works of art were exposed when they were removed from places of worship in accordance with those provisions laid down by the Second Vatican Council. At first, these works of sacred art were kept in storerooms in the Derio Seminary and in Ollerías Street, Bilbao.

After the agreement signed in 1991 between the Biscay County Council and the Bilbao Town Hall, it was decided to move the Headquarters of the Museum to the former Convent of the Incarnation in Atxuri Street, where new facilities were inaugurated in 1995. The building has a Renaissance cloister that originally had only two widely-arched spans supporting wooden cantilevered galleries. To these, two additional wings were added to hold administrative offices and a restoration workshop on one of them and the Residence for Dominican Fathers on the other.