Paintings from the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. National Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. History of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection

The collection of paintings presented at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid was collected by three generations of the Thyssen family.

It was started at the end of the 19th century in Germany by the founder of the financial and steel empire Thyssen August Thiessen(1846-1926). The bulk of the collection was collected in the 20-30s of the last century by his youngest son, Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza(1875-1947), who inherited the family business and became an avid art collector. He received the title of baron by marrying the Hungarian baroness Margaret Bornemisza de Cason. Under him, the family moved to Lugano, Switzerland, where the family's collection of paintings was exhibited in a private gallery for display to the general public and gained worldwide fame.

After Henry's death and the division of the collection between his heirs, his son Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza(1921-2002), who headed the family business, managed not only to preserve and restore the main part of the collection, but also significantly expanded it.

In 1985, Hans Heinrich married a famous Spanish beauty and beauty pageant winner Carmen Cervera Soledad(1943-). Thanks to her mediation, the bulk of the collection was transferred to Madrid, first on a lease basis under an agreement in 1988, and then in 1993 it was completely purchased by the Spanish government for $350 million. According to some estimates, this amount was at least three times lower than the actual value of the collection at that time.

The collection of Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza was exhibited in Madrid's Villahermosa Palace in Plaza Canovas in a new museum named after him, which opened its doors to the general public in 1992.

The main entrance and the queue to the museum, by the middle of the day, is quite small.

Bust of Hans Heinrich in front of the entrance.

Hans Heinrich's wife Carmen Cervera continued to buy paintings and significantly expanded the part of the collection that she inherited after her husband's death. Carmen donated her personal collection to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Since 2004, her collection of paintings has been exhibited in a new building, specially built for her next to the main building. In the previous photo, this new museum building is visible in the background on the left.

The head of a boy with his eyes closed in the museum courtyard. The work of the famous modern Spanish sculptor Antonio Lopez García entitled "Night".

A regular ticket to enter the museum costs 8 euros. There is no information about the paintings in Russian. I bought a small guidebook in English from the museum store for 6 euros with a brief description of the most significant paintings. Photography is strictly prohibited.

I will show you the main masterpieces of the museum that I managed to find on the Internet, most of them on this site.

Each of the representatives of the Thyssen family collected paintings from different periods, so their private collection, although it does not claim to be complete, covers all the main directions of painting over eight centuries of its development, from the old masters to the modern avant-garde.

Domenico Ghirlandaio. Portrait of Giovanna Albezi Tornabuoni 1489-90

Albrecht Durer. Christ among doctors. 1506

Vittore Carpaccio. Young knight against the backdrop of a landscape. 1510

Lucas Cranach Sr. Nymph resting at the source. 1530-1535

Hans Holbein the Younger. Portrait of King Henry VIII. 1537

El Greco. Annunciation. 1573-76

Caravaggio. Saint Catherine of Alexandria. ca.1598

Jan Brueghel the Elder. Garden in paradise. 1612

Franz Hals. Family in a landscape. 1645-48

Willem Kalf. Still life with a Chinese vase, a nautilus cup and other objects. 1662

Luca Giordano. Solomon's solution. 1665

Canaletto. View of Piazza San Marco, Venice. 1723-24
Does the tower seem to be out of place?

Pierre Auguste Renoir. Woman with an umbrella in the garden. 1875

Pierre Auguste Renoir. Wheat field. 1879

Claude Monet. Thaw in Vétheuil. 1880

Claude Monet. Charing Cross Bridge. 1899

Edgar Degas. Dance in green. 1877-79

Edgar Degas. Horsemen in the landscape. 1894

Marc Chagall. Gray houses, Vitebsk. 1917

Pablo Picasso. Harlequin with a mirror. 1923

Edward Hopper. Hotel room. 1931

Salvador Dali. A dream inspired by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a second before waking up. 1944

Perhaps the most famous painting by the great surrealist. Only he could depict a dream like that. Based on the illustrations, I imagined this picture to be huge. In fact, it is quite small, 40 by 50 cm.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (Spanish: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza) was until 1993 the world's largest private art gallery (along with a collection of British monarchs). Nowadays a state art gallery in Madrid. It is part of the “Golden Triangle of Arts” of the Spanish capital along with the Prado and the Reina Sofia Arts Center. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is an excellent addition to the collections of its neighbors in the triangle: unlike the Prado, it presents works of Italian primitivists and painters of the English, Dutch and German schools, unlike the Arts Center, the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection includes impressionists, expressionists, and also European and American paintings of the second half of the 20th century. The collection occupies the Palace of the Dukes of Villahermosa (Spanish: Palacio Villahermosa) near the Prado. Selected works are also exhibited at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in Barcelona.

Mostaert, Jan - The Expulsion of Hagar, c. 1520-25, 94 cm x 131 cm, Wood, oil

Mola, Pier Francesco - Saint John the Baptist preaching in the desert, c. 1650-55, 73.5 cm x 99 cm, Oil on canvas

Memling, Hans - Portrait of a young man praying (recto), ca. 1485, 29.2 cm x 22.5 cm, Wood, oil

Meidner, Ludwig - Corner House (Villa Kotschmann, Dresden), 1913, 97.2 cm x 78 cm, Oil on canvas

Memling, Hans - Flowers in a jug (reverse side), ca. 1485, 29.2 cm x 22.5 cm, Wood, oil

Messina, Antonello da - Portrait of a man, c. 1472-76, 27.5 cm x 21 cm, Oil on wood

Metcalf, Willard L. - Picnic, 1907, 72.5 cm x 65.3 cm, Oil on canvas

Metsu, Gabriel - Cook, approx. 1657-62, 40 cm x 33.7 cm, Oil on canvas

Michel, Georges - Landscape with a mill, 40 cm x 52 cm, Oil on canvas

Mielich, Hans - Portrait of a woman aged fifty-seven, 1539, 71 cm x 53.5 cm, Oil on wood

Mieris I, Frans van - Portrait of a lady with a dog, 1672, 31.7 cm x 25.4 cm, Oil on wood

Miro, Joan - Painting on a white background, 1927, 55 cm x 46 cm, Oil on canvas

Miro, Joan - Painting, 1936, 78 cm x 108 cm, Hardboard, oil, casein and resin

Miro, Joan - Catalan peasant with a guitar, 1924, 147 cm x 114 cm, Oil on canvas

Miro, Joan - Lightning bird blinded by moonlight, 1955, 26 cm x 20 cm, Oil on cardboard

Modigliani, Amedeo - Head of a woman (Kiki), 1915, 43 cm x 26 cm, Oil on paper

Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo - Large Railway Painting, 1920, 100 cm x 77 cm, Oil on canvas

Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo - Segments of a circle, 1921, 78 cm x 60 cm, Tempera on canvas

Moillon, Louise - Still life with fruit, 1637, 87.5 cm x 112 cm, Oil on canvas

Monaco, Lorenzo - Madonna and Child enthroned with six angels, c. 1415-20, 147 cm x 82 cm, Wood, tempera and gold

Mondrian, Piet - Composition No. XIII. Composition 2, 1913, 79.5 cm x 63.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Mondrian, Piet - Composition in Color. Composition No. I with red and blue, 1931, 50 cm x 50 cm, Oil on canvas

Mondrian, Piet - New York, 3 (unfinished), 1941, 117 cm x 110 cm, Oil, pencil and chalk on canvas

Monet, Claude - House Among Roses, 1925, 92.3 cm x 73.3 cm, Oil on canvas

Monet, Claude - Hut in Trouville, low tide, 1881, 60 cm x 73.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Monet, Claude - Charing Cross Bridge, 1899, 64.8 cm x 80.6 cm, Oil on canvas

Monet, Claude - Low tide in Varengeville, 1882, 60 cm x 81 cm, Oil on canvas

Monet, Claude - Thaw in Vetheuil, 1880, 60 cm x 100 cm, Oil on canvas

Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste - Bouquet of poppies, anemones, York and Lancaster roses, double campanella, hyacinth and tulip, tied with a blue ribbon, 37 cm x 34.4 cm, Oil on canvas

Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste - Bouquet of chamomile, French rose, yellow rose, orange blossom and carnation, tied with a blue ribbon, 37 cm x 34.4 cm, Oil on canvas

Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste - Basket with flowers, 77 cm x 102 cm, Oil on canvas

Montagna, Bartolomeo - Saint Jerome in the desert, 40 cm x 28.8 cm, Oil on wood

Moore, Henry - Two Mothers Holding Children, 1941, 38 cm x 56.4 cm, Ink, wax pencil, watercolor on paper

Moore, Henry - Three Seated Figures, 1941, 48 cm x 37 cm, Paper on wood, ink, charcoal, wax pencil and watercolor

Mor, Antonis - Portrait of Giovanni Battista di Castaldo, c. 1550, 107 cm x 82.2 cm, Oil on wood

Morandi, Giorgio - Still life, 1948-49, 26 cm x 35 cm, Oil on canvas

Morandi, Giorgio - Flowers, 1942, 30.5 cm x 26 cm, Oil on canvas

Moreau, Gustave - Galatea, ca. 1896, 37.9 cm x 27 cm, Cardboard, Ink, tempera, gouache and watercolor

Morgenstern, Christian E. B. - Oak trees by the water, 1832, 71 cm x 100.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Morisot, Berthe - Reclining Nude Shepherdess, 1891, 57.5 cm x 86.4 cm, Oil on canvas

Morisot, Berthe - Psyche at the Mirror, 1876, 65 cm x 54 cm, Oil on canvas

Mostaert, Jan - Wings of a diptych with the souls of the righteous and donors, c. 1520, 24 cm x 16 cm, Wood, oil

Muller, Otto - Two female nudes in a landscape, c. 1922, 100 cm x 138 cm, Burlap, oil

Munch, Edward - Evening, 1888, 75 cm x 100.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Munch, Edward - Meeting in Space, 1899, 18.5 cm x 25.5 cm, Three-color woodcut on very thin grayish paper

Munch, Edward - Geese in the garden, ca. 1911, 90 cm x 68 cm, Oil on canvas

Munch, Edward - Coast, 1881, 37 cm x 51 cm, Oil on cardboard

Munter, Gabriele - Self-portrait, c. 1908, 49 cm x 33.6 cm, Oil on cardboard

Munter, Gabriele - View from his brother's house in Bonn, 1908, 47.2 cm x 33.6 cm, Oil on cardboard

Munter, Gabriele - Murnau (Murnau in May), 1924, 51 cm x 38 cm, Oil on canvas

Munter, Gabriele - School, Murnau, 1908, 40.6 cm x 32.7 cm, Oil on cardboard

Murillo, Bartolome Esteban - Madonna and Child with Saint Rose from Viterbo, c. 1670, 190 cm x 147 cm, Oil on canvas

Music, Zoran - Empty landscape, 1960, 131 cm x 162.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nattier, Jean-Marc - Portrait of Madame Bure as Diana, 1745, 138 cm x 105 cm, Oil on canvas

Nay, Ernst Wilhelm - Multicolor, 1959, 126 cm x 90 cm, Oil on canvas

Neeffs I, Peeter - Church interior, 1615-16, 39.3 cm x 58.8 cm, Oil on wood

Neer, Aert van der - Winter landscape with skaters on ice, ca. 1650-55, 61 cm x 85.1 cm, Oil on canvas

Neer, Aert van der - Forest river, approx. 1645, 41.6 cm x 60.3 cm, Oil on wood

Neer, Aert van der - Lunar landscape with a road next to a canal, ca. 1645-50, 35.6 cm x 65.5 cm, Oil on wood

Nerio, Ugolino di (Ugolino da Siena) - Crucifixion with the Virgin, Saint John and angels, c. 1330-35, 135 cm x 89 cm, Wood, tempera and gold

Netscher, Caspar - Portrait of a Lady, 1676, 54.2 cm x 44.7 cm, Oil on canvas

Netscher, Caspar (attributed) - Portrait of a man, c. 1676, 54 cm x 45.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Red clouds, 34.5 cm x 44.7 cm, Paper, watercolor

Nolde, Emil - Red flowers, 1906, 52.4 cm x 55.8 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Summer clouds, 1913, 73.3 cm x 88.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Summer afternoon, 1903, 72.5 cm x 87.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Bridge over the swamp, 1910, 73 cm x 89.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Autumn evening, 1924, 73 cm x 100.5 cm, Oil on canvas

Nolde, Emil - Bright sunflowers, 1936, 88.5 cm x 67.3 cm, Oil on canvas

There are plenty of museums in Madrid where you can enjoy viewing originals of famous paintings. One such place is the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, located near the famous Prado Museum. It is easy to find on the map at Palacio de Villahermosa Paseo del Prado, 8.

Briefly about the founding of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

The museum presents paintings for every taste. Raphael and Picasso, Rubens and Monet, Titian and Van Gon get along here without any problems. To understand why this happened, let’s tell you a little about the history of this collection. It all started in the twenties of the 20th century, when the wealthy German industrialist Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza began methodically buying paintings by famous artists. This is how canvases painted in the 14th-20th centuries ended up in his hands.

The good deed was continued by the son, but it all ended with the collection being sold to the Spanish government. And now the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum remains one of the most significant objects in Madrid. The main collection and expositions that change from time to time are available for inspection.

How to get to the museum?

There are many options:

• by buses No. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 27, 34, 37, 41, 51, 52, 53, 74, 146, 150;
• by metro, Banco de Espana station;
• by train, Atocha Station or Recoletos Station;
• or by rented car... there is plenty of parking at the museum

Opening hours and cost of visiting the museum

The museum doors are open daily from 10:00 to 19:00. The exception is Monday: on this day you can view the main collection of paintings for free from 12:00 to 16:00. You should not count on visiting the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum on December 25, January 1 and May 1 - traditionally these days are days off.

(*) – pensioners, people over 65, students, students of fine arts, youth card holders, disabled people, large families can count on discounts; (**) – the exhibition can be visited free of charge by children under 12 years of age, officially unemployed Spaniards, and members of the committee of the International Council of Museums; (***) – changes every few months

It is best to worry about purchasing tickets in advance. This can be done via the Internet on the museum’s website, at numerous ticket offices that sell travel tickets. Of course, you can also buy tickets at the museum’s box office (Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:30). In extreme cases, you can book tickets by phone ((+34)902760511). In the latter option, ticket booking is available on any day of the week from 9:00 to 20:00. People continue to be allowed into the museum an hour before the end of its work. Please note that free tickets must also be booked in advance, because there are plenty of people interested.

Data updating

The English version of the official website of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is available at the link:

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid is a unique collection of original masterpieces of painting from the private collection of the family of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza. Here are paintings by great artists of various schools and movements, created over eight hundred years.

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Three generations of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family took part in the creation of the museum’s exhibition. It was started by a successful German businessman, steel magnate August Thyssen. In 1910, by his order, Auguste Rodin created several sculptural compositions. To this day, four figures occupy a place of honor in the modern collection, greeting guests at the entrance to the museum.

Management of the family business and passion for collecting works of art passed from Augustus to one of his sons, Heinrich. He began collecting paintings by old European masters, buying them in America during the Great Depression and returning them to their historical homeland. By the time of his death in 1947, there were more than 500 works. During his reign, works of art were exhibited publicly for the first time. This happened in 1930 in Munich; since 1936, the exhibition was exhibited in a specially built gallery at Villa Heinrich in Lugano (Switzerland). In addition to paintings, he collected tapestries, antique furniture, sculptures, jewelry and much more.

After Henry's death, the collection was divided among his heirs. His youngest son, Hans, followed in his footsteps and put a lot of effort into uniting the collection. In addition, he replenished it with works of modern masters of painting: he bought paintings by impressionists, avant-garde artists, hyperrealists, etc. Like his father, Hans believed that masterpieces should be available for viewing by as many people as possible. Therefore, he constantly organized traveling exhibitions in all countries of the world.

With the increase in the collection, the question arose about choosing a permanent place, because... the gallery in a private villa did not accommodate all the works, and the conditions could not ensure proper preservation. Of the many proposals received, the choice fell on the Villahermosa Palace (1771).

It is located in the heart of Madrid next to the famous Prado Museum. The Spanish government guaranteed that the exhibition would be given the status of a state museum. This was important, since it made it possible to preserve the entire collection as a whole. Another reason that influenced the choice was the Spanish origin of Hans’s wife, the famous former model Carmen Cervera, who was interested in placing the exhibition in her homeland.

The agreement was signed in 1988. Several years were spent on renovations, converting the palace into a museum, and in October 1992 it opened to visitors. By 2004, the collection expanded to include paintings owned by Carmen Cervera. In addition, members of the Thyssen-Bornemisza family bought valuable paintings and exhibited them in the halls of the museum. Therefore, there was a need to create new areas.

In addition to the main three-story building, a new one in a modern style was built nearby. Now the museum, in addition to displaying the permanent collection, hosts various temporary exhibitions, seminars and other events.

Exposition

The permanent exhibition includes two separate collections: the baron's and his wife's. The first, consisting of 775 works that previously belonged to the baron, was bought by the Spanish state for $350 million. The other, which is the property of his widow Carmen Cervera and includes 304 canvases, was rented for a long time. It is exhibited in the new building.

The list of some artists overlaps; these are outstanding masters of the 13th – 20th centuries. The paintings are arranged according to dates: from older to more recent. Most of the paintings are painted in oils, there are also watercolors, pastels, and works created using tempera and gold.

Conventionally, the exhibition can be divided into four parts. The first unites paintings by Italian, German, Dutch, and Flemish artists of the 13th – 15th centuries. These are landscapes, portraits, paintings on religious and mystical subjects: Niccolo di Tommaso “The Virgin and Child”, Marco Zoppo “Saint Jerome in the Desert”, Francesco Botticini “Saint Cecilia”, Jan van Eyck “The Annunciation”, etc.

The second part contains works of the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Classicism, covering the 16th – 18th centuries. Here you can see works by such famous painters as: Tintoretto “The Meeting of Tamar and Judah”, Titian “The Virgin and Child”, Rubens “The Blinding of Samson”, Veronese “Portrait of a Woman with a Dog”, Caravaggio “St. Catherine of Alexandria”, El Greco “The Annunciation” and etc.

The third part combines paintings from the 19th – 20th centuries. They are represented by such movements as: impressionism, avant-garde, surrealism, symbolism, cubism. These are paintings by Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall. Famous paintings appear before admiring spectators: Van Gogh’s “The Potato Eaters”, Edgar Degas’ “Dance in Green”, Salvador Dali’s “The Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee”, Pablo Picasso’s “Man with a Clarinet” and many others.

The fourth part consists of curious and little-known paintings in Europe by North American painters of the 19th and 20th centuries. These are, for example, the works of the abstract artist D. Pollock “Brown and Silver I”, the representative of pop art R. Lichtenstein “Woman in the Bathroom” and so on. Works by American artists occupy four rooms of the museum.

Opening hours and ticket prices

The permanent exhibition is open:

• From Tuesday to Sunday: from 10.00 to 19.00. Ticket price is 12 €, for pensioners – 8 €, children under 12 years old visit free of charge. Audio guide rental – 1€ (available in Russian).
• Monday: from 12.00 to 16.00 (free admission).

The museum is closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25. Last entry is one hour before closing. Tickets for temporary exhibitions are sold separately.

Where is it and how to get there

The museum is located in the center of Madrid on Paseo del Prado, 8.

The closest metro station to the museum is Banco de España, Line 2,

Buses No. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 27, 34, 37, 41, 51, 52, 53, 74, 146, 150.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid is one of the world's richest collections of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and other objects of visual art. Founded as a home-based private gallery, it soon eclipsed most European exhibition venues. It houses authentic masterpieces from several eras, including classicism, baroque, and key movements of the 20th century. Not a single sightseeing tour of the Spanish capital is complete without visiting the exhibition.

Today, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is part of the so-called “Golden Triangle of Madrid”, where the city’s key attractions are concentrated. Within walking distance are the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia Fine Arts Center. According to the most conservative estimates, more than 984 thousand tickets are sold here annually, which puts the modest-looking building on a par with the most visited art galleries on the planet.

Tickets

For 2020, the entry fee is:

• Adults - 13 € ;
• Students, large families and elderly people over 65 years old - 9 € ;
• Participants of official excursion groups from 6 people - 11 € ;
• Photo and video shooting without flash and tripod - for free.

All tickets are valid during the working day; you are allowed to leave the museum hall for a break in the cafe, and then return through the main entrance, presenting the same coupon.

The right to free admission to any exhibition can be used by:

• School teachers and teachers of universities located in the European Union;
• Temporarily unemployed persons with an EU passport or an open residence permit;
• Children and adolescents under 18 years of age;
• People with disabilities of any group, regardless of citizenship.

Every Monday from 12:00 to 16:00 - free entry to the main exhibition for all visitors who have booked a visit through the MasterCard system. To do this, you need to log in to the affiliate program website and download a voucher with a unique code. In addition to a free ticket, he will give a 5% discount on souvenirs and a compliment from the museum cafe.

The opening hours of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum do not depend on the day of the week - the doors to all exhibition halls are open from 12:00 to 16:00, the ticket office closes 30 minutes earlier. The schedule for holidays and Christmas holidays is announced approximately 2 weeks before the date, most often these are weekends.