Page 49 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum

A few days earlier, with rain pelting the city,
we headed to another of Madrid’s cultural land-
marks, Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
It’s part of the city’s "Golden Triangle of Art",
which also includes the Prado and the Reina
Sofia national galleries, and was about a 20-
minute walk from our La Latina apartment.
We expected a small but interesting collection
amassed by a very rich family, but that changed
the minute we entered the magnificent lobby. It
was buzzing - hundreds of visitors and residents
had picked the same rainy day destination we
had. Exploring the galleries, we quickly discov-
ered why. We’ve visited a lot of great museums
in our travels, from the Hermitage in St. Peters-
burg to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and this collec-
tion impressed with its focus and diversity,
spanning four centuries of European and Ameri-
can art by an impressive roster of masters.
Larger-than-life portraits of the Baron Hans
Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza and Baroness
Carman loomed over the hundred umbrella-tot-
ing folks in the ticket line. Courted by museums
around the world, the benefactors ultimately
sold their collection to the Spanish government
for pennies on the dollar. Among the 1,000-plus
works were paintings by Caravaggio, Rem-
brandt, Canaletto, Monet, Degas, Morisot, Van
Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Mondrian, and Kandin-
sky, to name a few. That the Baroness, the
Baron’s fifth and final wife, was a former Miss
Spain, undoubtedly helped secure a good bar-
gain for Spain.
We were especially taken with paintings cu-
rated for the exhibit of American Art in the
Thyssen Collection. Shuffling through the spa-
cious rooms was like a stroll through American
art history with works by Innis, Church, Durand,
Homer, Remington, Rothko, Pollock, Lichten-
stein, O'Keeffe, and dozens of others arranged
around themes like politics, science, the envi-
ronment, and urban life. Thought-provoking in
these turbulent times.
Our heads were spinning when we finally
hoisted our shared umbrella and stepped back
out into the day’s slashing rain. The Thyssen
wasn’t even on our original list of places to visit,
but we’re glad we did. We’ll return when ever
we’re back in this exciting city..
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