Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum fills in the gaps left by the two museums beside it. Where the Prado is strongest in Spanish and royal collections and the Reina Sofía focuses on the twentieth century, the Thyssen offers a chronological survey of Western painting from the thirteenth century to the later twentieth century, including periods that Spain’s national collections hold only lightly: Dutch and Flemish early painting, Impressionism, German Expressionism and American art. Together the three museums make up what Madrid calls its Golden Triangle of Art.

The building is the Villahermosa Palace on the Paseo del Prado, a nineteenth-century palace that was converted into a museum by the architect Rafael Moneo. The museum opened in 1992 to house the private collection assembled by the Thyssen-Bornemisza family and later by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza. The Spanish state acquired most of it in 1993, and the baroness, Carmen Cervera, lent and later added a second collection, which now fills additional galleries.

The route begins on the top floor and works downwards through time. Early Italian Gothic painting and the Northern Renaissance are represented by works such as Jan van Eyck’s Annunciation diptych, and portraits by Hans Holbein and Albrecht Dürer. The collection includes work by Caravaggio and Rembrandt, as well as Venetian painters like Carpaccio. Further down come Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, including Monet, Renoir, Degas and Van Gogh, followed by Expressionist artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Cubist and abstract works.

The American holdings stand out, including Edward Hopper’s Hotel Room, and Pop Art by Roy Lichtenstein makes a lively final room. The scale is human, with fewer galleries than the Prado, so a visit is manageable in half a day, and the sequence suits people who want to understand stylistic change in one sitting. Temporary exhibitions are held regularly and are often among the best shows in the city.

The museum is central, close to the Prado and the Retiro Park, and the nearest metro stop is Banco de España. Hours, free-entry periods and ticket types are posted on the official site, and audio guides are available. A cafe and a shop are in the building.