Mariano Andreu, antique collector, restorer and creator

A little-known aspect of the multifaceted artist Mariano Andreu was his fondness for the antiquarian world. Andreu was an expert in antiquities as evidenced through newspapers, letters and, after his death, the masterpieces (art and furniture) auctioned in Villa Tragaviento, Biarritz. Some of these works came from his house at rue Marbeau in Paris, also a museum house. This paper attempts to shed some light on these acquisitions, such as when they were purchased and how the artist used them, as they marked the beginning of new and imaginative creations.