Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, Spain

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is an art museum in Madrid, located near the Prado Museum on one of city's main boulevards. It is known as part of the 'Golden Triangle of Art', which also includes the Prado and the Reina Sofia national galleries. The Thyssen-Bornemisza fills the historical gaps in its counterparts' collections: in the Prado's case this includes Italian primitives and works from the English, Dutch and German schools, while in the case of the Reina Sofia it concerns Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the 20th century.

The collection was started in the 1920s as a private collection by Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon. In a reversal of the movement of European paintings to the US during this period, one of the elder Baron's sources was the collections of American millionaires coping with the Great Depression and inheritance taxes. In this way he acquired old master paintings such as Ghirlandaio's portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni and Carpaccio's Knight. The collection was later expanded by Heinrich's son Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921–2002), who assembled most of the works from his relatives' collections and proceeded to acquire large numbers of new works (from Gothic art to Lucien Freud).

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum officially opened in 1992.

References:

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User Reviews

Jack P. (18 months ago)
Free on Mondays. Excellent collection. Exhibits go from oldest on the second floor to the most recent on the ground floor. An opera singer performed during our visit, and it was amazing to look at art while opera songs echoed the halls.

Bert Sanford (18 months ago)
Fabulous! The collections show art from all ages and the lighting is perfect. The museum isn't so large you feel the need to rush. Not the best for small children. Photography is permitted without flash. Buy tickets in advance to save waiting in line.

Albert Balvers (18 months ago)
Absolutely magnificent. Great private collection of world class art. Buy tickets online and go early to avoid the queues. Nice little cafe/restaurant with good service and cheap food. Start on the second floor and work your way down. Must-see when in Madrid!

Izreviews Izreviewer (18 months ago)
I really enjoyed my experience here. They are very friendly here and allow you to photograph everything which I love. They have a temporary exhibition here until June 2019 where there are many religious Christian artworks by some of the top masters including Rubens and Caravaggio. My favorite are Rubens paintings. Some of these paintings give you tingles of energy and beauty watching them. The first floor and a part of the second have modern art and the higher floors have the classical and Baroque paintings and some sculptures as I have seen what I believe is a Rodin there. Highly recommend this place.

Glenn A. Jaspart (19 months ago)
A wonderful place with various collections. You can easily spend 3 hours there. You can find both temporary and permanent collections. The museum is very modern in its design and brightly colored. Very good location as well (easily accessible). If you're a teacher, the entrance is free.

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