GUIDE TO MADRID

Guide to Madrid
Distorted figures, swirling lines and bold colours are
typical of the Mannerist style which El Greco (1541–
1614) mastered in Venice, where he was influenced by
Titian and Tintoretto, both masters of the High
Renaissance. This intensely spiritual painting
(c.1567–1577) reveals the Cretan artist’s development
following his move to Toledo, Spain, in 1577.
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Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni
This sublime portrait (1488) by Florentine painter
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–94), was the last Baron
Thyssen’s favourite. It was commissioned to celebrate
the marriage of Giovanna degli Albizzi to Lorenzo
Tornabuoni – a union of two powerful families. Tragically,
Giovanna died in childbirth shortly afterwards.
Modern Paintings in the Thyssen
1
Woman with a Parasol in a Garden
This Impressionist painting of a garden bathed in
sunlight (c.1873) is by one of the founders of the
influential movement, Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(1841–1920). Renoir was apprenticed for four years as
a porcelain painter, and later attributed his technical
brilliance in handling surface and texture to his early
training.
2
Swaying Dancer
This exquisite study of a dancer in performance
(1877–9) by French artist Edgar Degas (1834–1917) is
one of a series of his works devoted to the ballet. Unlike
some Impressionist painters, Degas placed great
emphasis on the importance of drawing, as the superb
draughts-manship of this pastel clearly shows.
3
Les Vessenots
Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90) painted this dazzling
landscape (1890) during the last year of his troubled life.
He worked feverishly while staying at Les Vessenots,
near Auvers in France, producing more than 80 canvases
in less than three months.
4
Fränzi in Front of a Carved Chair
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880– 1938) was an
important figure in German Expressionism and a member
of the group known as Die Brücke (The Bridge), which
began the movement in Dresden. These artists were
more interested in expressing feelings through their
work, and encouraging emotional responses from their
audience, rather than portraying outward reality. Fränzi,
seen in this lovely 1910 work, was one of their favourite
models.
5
The Dream
A founder member, with Wassily Kandinsky, of the
influential Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) group, German artist
Franz Marc (1880–1916) took Expressionism in a new,
spiritual direction. Colours, as in this 1912 work, are used
symbolically, as are the animals in his paintings, which
represent truth, beauty and other ideals.
6
Still Life with Instruments
Liubov Popova (1889–1924) was one of the most
innovative artists working in Russia on the eve of the
Revolution. This Cubist painting (1915), completed after
a period of study in Paris, paves the way for her Painterly
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Architectonic , an even bolder abstract work exhibited
in Room 41.
7
Hotel Room
In this moving 1931 painting by American artist
Edward Hopper (1882–1967) the bare furnishings,
discarded suitcase and disconsolate posture of the
woman holding the railway timetable masterfully suggest
loneliness and dislocation – a subject the artist returned
to time and again. Hopper is the most important
representative of the American social realist school,
created in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and
the Great Depression which followed.
8
New York City, New York
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was one of the most
influential abstract artists of the 20th century. Born in
The Netherlands, he moved to New York after the
outbreak of World War II. The simple geometrical forms
and bold colours of this abstract painting (1940–42)
celebrate the energy and dynamism of his adopted home.
9
Brown and Silver I
Famous for his “action paintings” – randomly
throwing or pouring paint onto the canvas in an effort to
create spontaneity – Jackson Pollock (1912–56) made a
huge impact on postwar art in America. This painting
(c.1951) is typical of his revolutionary approach.
10
Portrait of Baron H.H. Thyssen-Bornemisza
This revealing study of the museum’s benefactor
(1981–2) is the work of Britain’s most distinguished
portrait artist, Lucian Freud (b.1922). In the background
is Pierrot Content by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721),
which visitors will find in Room 28.
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Practical information
• Paseo del Prado 8
• Map F4
• 91 369 0151
• www.museothyssen.org
• Open 10am–7pm Tue–Sun (Jul–Aug: to midnight
Tue–Sat); closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec
• Adm €6 (or €9 for both the permanent and
temporary collections)
• Dis. access
Top tips
• The café-restaurant has magnificent views of the
garden.
• The Thyssen opens for evening showings in
summer, when it is also possible to dine in the
fifth-floor terrace restaurant.
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Must See Museums