SEVILLE.- The exhibition House of Alba Collection, which can be seen at the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville until January 10, was inaugurated by Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, Duchess of Alba. The Duchess was accompanied by her children, the Mayor of Seville, Alfredo Sánchez Monteseirín, as well as other representatives of the local government.
The Duchess of Alba has loaned the paintings, which had not been shown at a museum since 1987, when they were exhibited in Madrid and Barcelona.
The show includes paintings, furniture, tapestries and documents concerning the Dukes of Alba. Among the paintings on view are "Portrait of the Grand Duke of Alba" by 16th century Italian Renaissance painter Titian and "The Duchess of Alba in White," by Francisco de Goya, painted in 1795. Other artists included in the exhibition are: Rubens, Murillo, Luca Giordano, Ribera, and Renoir.
Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th and present Duchess of Alba de Tormes, is the third female to carry the title in her own right.
She was born March 28, 1926 in Liria Palace in Madrid as the only child of Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba (1878-1955) and his wife, the former Maria del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 15th Duchess of Aliaga and 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco (1900-1934). She is the current head of the House of Alba.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Doña Cayetana has more titles than any other noble in the world. She has eight other ducal titles, 15 marquesal titles, 19 comital titles and is 20 times a Grandee of Spain.