The Thyssen Museum, Madrid: Five Fabulous Things

The Thyssen Museum in Madrid provides one of three vertex points in the city’s ‘Golden Triangle of Art‘.

This significant collection of art was acquired by Spain in 1992. The Thyssen family collection had previously been one of the largest private collections in the world. Baron Thyssen decided to house the museum in Madrid after finalizing his fifth marriage to Carmen Cervera, a former Miss Spain from Barcelona. (He also, by some accounts, decided to charge Spain $350 million dollars for the collection only after the government appropriated a building and paid to move the collection to Madrid, but that’s a story for a different day.)

The current collection provides almost 1,000 pieces of art that span from the 13 century to present day. Read on for the five best things to see in the Thyssen museum on your next visit!

Thyssen Museum: Five Best Things to See

While the Thyssen collection starts in the lobby of the building, the official tour begins on the second floor and works it’s way back down. This guide follows the same route. Since the Thyssen is a slightly more manageable size than the Prado, I suggest whole rooms to view instead of individual paintings. This tour should allow you to work your way through the whole museum in about an hour and a half. Of course, you may get hung up on your own favorite finds. Enjoy!

Entrance: Rodin Sculptures

The lobby holds one of the most interesting collections in the Thyssen, visible free of charge. Visitors can view a set of four sculptures by Auguste Rodin just by stepping into the building. These sculptures include ‘Christ and the Magdalene’, the only known Rodin work with a religious subject.

Second Floor: Room 1

The collection moves chronologically starting on the second floor. For example, Room 1 houses 13th century Italian art. Usually, I enjoy more contemporary art, but the collection in Room 1 holds my attention because of the beautiful contrast between the gold hues common in paintings of that age and the pink walls (the color chosen by Carmen Cervera when the building was being re-modeled). See a typical work from this room below:

Second Floor: Room H

It is worth mentioning that the museum is split between the collection of Baron Thyssen and the collection of Carmen. The numbered rooms hold the collection of the Baron and Thyssen family, while lettered rooms house Carmen’s art. I find this interesting because you can compare the works each of them collected from similar time periods.

Room H holds some of Carmen’s Early Impressionism art. Artists include Monet (pictured), Renoir, Sisley and Pissarro. The Pissarro is especially interesting considering the controversy the museum faced over another Pissarro work, no longer on display.

First Floor: Room 37

The collection on the first floor stretches from the 17 century to the 20 century. The works include everything from Hudson River school landscapes to Realism. The staff does an excellent job in chronology. Viewers can appreciate how artistic movements grew and evolved during this time period. Room 37, towards the more modern end of the collection on this floor, houses Expressionist painting. The primary artist featured is Emil Nolde (pictured).

Ground Floor: Room 46

The ground floor houses the most modern components of the collection. I think it’s the most impressive part of the museum. Look out for work by Klee, Picasso, Miro, Pollock, De Kooning, Rothko and Lichenstein. In Room 46 there are several impressive works by De Kooning as well as a large installation piece by the Chilean Surrealist Roberto Matta (pictured).

Enjoy your visit to the Thyssen! Thank you to Jorge Fernández Salas for the banner photo.