Madrid

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the best collection of private origin

In the heart of Paseo del Prado, next to the Neptune Fountain, we find another of the best museums to see in Madrid, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

The Thyssen Museum, together with the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofía Art Center forms Madrid’s Paseo del Arte. The works on display belong to the private collection of Baron Thyssen and his wife Carmen Cervera, although they were sold to the Spanish Government in 1993 to form part of this spectacular museum.

To get to know the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in depth, we recommend taking one of the following guided tours:

History of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

Madrid - Thyssen Museum - San Marcos SquareThe collection that we can admire today began to be formed in 1920 thanks to the 1st Baron, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza who, being a great fan of art, began to acquire important works of art.

This love for art continued with his son, the 2nd Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, who continued to increase the collection and passed on his love to his wife Carmen Cervera.

In 1992, after several negotiations and offers with different museums and institutions around the world, the collection began to be exhibited in the central Palacio de Villahermosa in Madrid thanks to the contract, first of lease and then of purchase, between the Thyssens and the Government of Spain.

Currently, most of the Thyssen Museum ‘s works of art are in Madrid, but a part can also be seen in the National Art Museum of Catalonia, in Barcelona, ​​and in the Carmen Thyssen Museum in Malaga.

The Visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid

Madrid - Thyssen Museum - The Young KnightAt the Madrid headquarters we can find almost 1,000 works of art exhibited in chronological order.

These works cover styles from the Renaissance to Romanticism, passing through the Baroco or the Rococo. There are even samples of Pop Art.

Impressionism, Expressionism or Fauvism are also pictorial styles that are part of the collection.

The rooms of the Museum, as we have said arranged in chronological order, begin with important paintings of the Italian and German Renaissance.

Among these works we can highlight Adoration of the Magi by Luca di Tomme, Christ and the Samaritan Woman by Duccio, The Young Knight by Vittore Carpaccio, Saint Mark’s Square by Canaletto or Henry VIII by Hans Holbein.

Later we find the Portrait Gallery where we can see portraits of artists such as Veronese and Raphael. In addition, from this gallery we have great views of the neighboring Prado Museum.

Madrid - Thyssen Museum - Portrait of a LadyRubens and Caravaggio also have a section in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Of these, Portrait of a Lady, from the first, and Santa Catalina, from the second, should be highlighted.

The Dutch Baroque, with paintings by Rembrandt and Impressionism are the following rooms. Among the Impressionist works we must highlight paintings by Pissarro, Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Gaughin.

The museum’s collection ends with a journey through the 20th century with expressionist paintings such as Grosz’s Metropolis. We can also see Man with Clarinet, Harlequin with Mirror, Frugal Food or Bullfight, all of them by Picasso. Joan Miró, Edward Munch and Salvador Dalí are also among those exhibiting in this section.

You can find more information on the official website of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

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