Part of Madrid’s ‘Golden Triangle of Art’, the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum is based around the collection of the Hungarian-German entrepreneur Heinrich Thyssen (or Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva, to give him his full, somewhat unwieldy title), which was later expanded by his son, Hans. And what a collection it is…
In contrast to the relatively narrow focus of the nearby Prado and Reina Sofía galleries, in the Thyssen you’ll find a bit of everything; spanning more than 700 years of art history, the gallery takes visitors on a journey from Gothic altarpieces all the way through to avant-garde abstraction. Major names here include Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, and Edward Hopper – but it would probably be just as easy to list who doesn’t feature!
As if all that wasn’t enough, the ground floor of the museum also hosts a selection of works owned by Hans Thyssen’s wife, Carmen – and far from a sideshow, this is every bit as strong as the rest of the gallery.
In fact, it’s Carmen we have to thank for the museum’s existence in the first place; when her husband was denied permission to expand the family’s gallery in Lugano, Switzerland, it was she who championed the idea of bringing the collection to her native Spain!
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