Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum stands almost opposite the Prado museum. It was this museum which finally formed the Golden Triangle of Art in Madrid in 1993.

The museum got its name from the Thyssen-Bornemisza family private art collection, Baron Heinrich who started his collection in the 1920s and later by his son baron Hans Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza.

The museum was named after the Thyssen-Bornemisza family. Baron Heinrich started the private collection in the 1920s which was continued after his death by his son Hans Heinrich. The collection was split amongst the family upon the father’s death and Baron Hans Thyssen-Bornemisza had to amalgamate it from his relatives. His collection was the most important private collection in the world and was acquired by Spain in June 1993 for 350 million dollars.

Paintings by Van Eyck, Kirchner, Klee, Hopper, Gauguin, Lucas Cranach, Durer, Duccio, Vincent Van Gogh, Frans Hals, Vittore Carpaccio and many others can be seen on display to everyone who visits the museum.

So what place does The Thyssen-Bornemisza museum hold in the Golden Triangle of Art? The museum complements the Prado collection of old paintings and the Reina Sofia museum’s modern art, focusing on such styles as German Renaissance and Expressionism art, 17th century Dutch painting, Impressionism, Russian Constructivism and Geometric Abstraction.

Now the museum houses two collections of the Thyssen-Bornemisza lineage: Baron Hans Heinrich’s Thyssen-Bornemisza collection and Carmen’s Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, owned by the baron’s widow and shown in the museum since 2004.