Prado Thyssen-Bornemisza

Museum
Museum
In 1992, the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection arrived in
Villahermosa Palace. It reflects the tastes of the two men
chiefly responsible for assembling it, Baron Heinrich and Baron
Hans Heinrich, who were well-versed in central European ar-
Paseo del Prado, s/n tistic tradition. Since then the palace has been one of Madrid’s
902 10 70 77
top museums, and the collection has been expanded with works
acquired by Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza. 17th-century Dutch
museodelprado.es painting, 19th-century American painting, Impressionism and
the historical avant-garde are very well represented.
Monday to Saturday
10am until 8pm
Sunday and holidays
10am until 7pm Revolution of the Portrait Mua (In Olden Times), to the Wild
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There is a heavy focus on portrai- West, which was so aptly depicted
Dreams and Nightmares ture at the Thyssen-Bornemisza by the painters of the Hudson
Among the depictions of Hell and Paradise housed by the museum, Museum, with some outstand- River School, led by Thomas Cole.
Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Haywain Triptych are ing Renaissance works such as This evocation of travel is even
particularly unique, due not only to the extreme meticulousness with Ghirlandaio’s Portrait of Giovanna present in one of the collection’s
which they were painted, but also to the dreamlike universe that they Tornabuoni and Carpaccio’s Young most famous pieces: Hotel Room
depict. Works by other Flemish painters, such as Patinir and Brueghel Knight in a Landscape, one of the by Edward Hopper. The painter,
the Elder, show a similar style. Centuries later and in Spain, Goya also first full-body portraits ever paint- who visited Spain during his
explored horror and fear in the Black Paintings that hung on the walls of ed. Also from the same period, but formative years as an artist,
his house, La Quinta del Sordo, which can now be viewed at the Prado. from northern Europe, are Hans acknowledged that his work was
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Holbein’s Portrait of Henry VIII enormously influenced by Goya,
of England and Robert Campin’s who he discovered in Madrid.
Portrait of a Stout Man. Among
the 20th-century portraits, pieces
like O!o Dix’s Hugo Erfurth with
Dog, Bacon’s Portrait of George
Science Dyer in a Mirror and Lucian
in Madrid Freud’s Reflection with Two Chil-
King Charles III wanted Madrid dren (Self-Portrait) show a strong
to be a leading centre of science. individual personality, although
To this end he commissioned the they are, in some manner, heirs to
construction of the Cabinet of Natural this same tradition.
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History, which is now the Prado

Museum, in front of the Botanical Around the World
Gardens. Neoclassical architect Through the works in the
Juan de Villanueva was chiefly
collection you can travel around
responsible for designing
the world in the space of a few
the complex.
metres: from Piazza San Marco in
Venice, painted in the 18th century
by Canale!o, to Rue Saint-Honoré
in the A!ernoon. Effect of Rain, as
it was painted in 1897 by Pissarro,
and from the landscapes of Tahiti,
the inspiration for so many of
6 Gauguin’s paintings, such as Mata 7
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 The Curtain Rises Abstract and Figurative Art
As paintings appeal to the sense of sight, many As if it were a guide to art history, the collection is Thyssen-
canvases also present themselves as scenes from the so comprehensive that it allows us to appreciate the Bornemisza
theatre. In the late 19th century, Degas was the artist diversity of the historic avant-garde in great detail.
of choice for shows, ballet and horse races. Swaying Movements like Expressionism, Cubism, Constructi-
Museum
Dancer stands out in the collection due to its great vism and Surrealism are thoroughly represented, but
immediacy. In Circus, August Macke depicts a fallen the collection also encompasses American art from
trapeze artist. For his part, Picasso, who is known for the second half of the 20th century, Abstract Expres-
his musicians and clowns, contributed to the museum sionism, Pop Art and Hyperrealism. Of particular note
with Harlequin with a Mirror. among its most important works are those by Braque,
Popova, Mondrian, Lichtenstein and Rothko. Paseo del Prado, 8

91 791 13 70

museothyssen.org

Tuesday to Sunday
and holidays
10am until 7pm
Monday
12 noon until 4pm
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Geniuses
You could do a tour of the Thyssen Museum focusing solely on artists that made
history for their legendary personalities, that is, for being viewed as “painting ge-
niuses”. These include Dürer, featured in the collection with Jesus Among the Doc-
tors; Caravaggio, who fled Rome accused of murder shortly a"er painting Saint
Catherine of Alexandria; Rembrandt, who painted a whole host of self-portraits,
one of which is housed here in Madrid; and Van Gogh, who painted Les Vessenots
just days before he commi!ed suicide.

Literary
Quarter
A stone’s throw from the
5 Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, in
1. Portrait of Giovanna Torna- 6. Woman in Bath. 1963 the area around Calle de las Huertas,
buoni. 1489-1490 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein /
Domenico Ghirlandaio VEGAP, 2017 you will find Lope de Vega’s house, the
2. Thyssen-Bornemisza 7. Pictorial Architecture. 1918
Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians
Museum Liubov Popova where Miguel de Cervantes was
3. Hotel Room. 1931 8. "Les Vessenots" in Auvers. buried, the Ateneo de Madrid
Edward Hopper 1890 and Teatro Español, Europe’s
4. Mata Mua (In Olden Times). Vincent van Gogh
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oldest theatre still in
1892. Paul Gauguin © Thyssen-Bornemisza operation.
© Carmen Thyssen-Madrid Museum.
Bornemisza Collection
5. Swaying Dancer (Dancer
In Green). 1877-1879
8 Edgar Degas 9