The academy was established by royal decree in 1744. About twenty years later, the enlightened monarch, Charles III purchased a former Baroque palace and commissioned architect Diego de Villanueva to convert it for academic use. Doubling as a museum and gallery, today it houses a fine art collection of paintings from the 15th to 20th century: Giovanni Bellini, Correggio, Rubens, Zurbarán, Murillo, Goya, Juan Gris, Pablo Serrano... The academy is also the headquarters of the Madrid Academy of Art.