ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS in Spain www.spain.info CONTENTS Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Introduction 3 Published by: © Turespaña Created by: Lionbridge 10 essential museums 4 NIPO: 086-18-006-3 National Museum of El Prado FREE COPY Reina Sofía National Art Centre Museum The content of this leaflet has been created with the utmost care. However, if you find an error, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum please help us to improve by sending an email to [email protected] Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Front Cover: Prado Museum, Madrid. Picasso Museum Barcelona Photo: nito500/123rf.com Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, IVAM Back cover: National Museum of Roman Art, Mérida. Dalí Theatre-Museum Figueres National Museum of Roman Art Mérida Pompidou Centre, Málaga Museum of Fine Arts in Seville Other museums that will surprise you 28 2 INTRODUCTION Spain is the perfect destination for enjoying art. There are over 1,500 museums and some of the most important collections in the world. PICASSO MUSEUM The blend of cultures and civilisations BARCELONA in mainland Spain has left a cultural her- itage which is both vast and valuable. Here you can visit the extraordinary Paseo del Arte or Art Walk in Madrid works by masters of great stature like with some of the best collections of Velázquez, Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya, paintings in the world. The Prado who symbolised the evolution of paint- Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza ing in the 17th, 18th and 19th centu- Museum and the Reina Sofía Museum ries. At the beginning of the 20th cen- alone would justify a visit to Spain's tury the modern art movement came capital. to the fore, with leading players like Picasso. Juan Gris and Joan Miró. They Exhibited here, as well as in other fasci- were followed by the sculptural cub- nating places like the Picasso Museum ism of Julio González, the surrealism of in Barcelona, the Dalí Theatre-Museum Dalí and Maruja Mallo... and onto the in Figueres and the Fine Arts Museum unique works of Eduardo Chillida and in Seville, you'll find some of the best Jorge Oteiza. works by the greatest Spanish artists. If you'd like to take advantage of your From Roman Hispania in the National trip to Spain to discover some of these Museum of Roman Art in Mérida to temples to art, then you're in luck. Spain the latest trends in contemporary art has excellent transport infrastructure in the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern so it's really easy to get around, with (IVAM) in Valencia, the Guggenheim numerous connections by plane, high- in Bilbao and the Pompidou Centre in speed train and the freedom you enjoy Málaga, a visit to our museums is a tru- from our comprehensive road network. ly rewarding journey through history. Come and discover museums which Somewhere between the distant past are a work of art in themselves and the and a promising future you have select artistic treasures they exhibit. 3 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS IN SPAIN 10 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS Photo: Pere Sanz/123rf.com Pere Photo: a PRADO MUSEUM MADRID NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EL PRADO As you stroll along the lush Paseo del As you enter, you'll be surprised by a Prado, the oldest garden in the city, the circle of columns capped by a dome first thing you see will be the slender, in the centre of which stands an enor- monumental building of the El Prado mous 16th century bronze sculpture of Museum. It is Neoclassical in style and Carlos V and the Fury. Nearby is the start surrounded by gardens and it is well of the great gallery, the focal point of worth stopping for a moment to admire the museum and the heart of El Prado. the Doric façade, with numerous col- Here there is a blend of paintings by umns, medallions and female sculptures. European great masters, sculptures and You soon reach the statue of Velázquez, decorative objects. which gives the name to the gate which If you're here for the day, the best thing was originally exclusively for monarchs is study each painting and hall in de- and dignitaries. tail. But if you really don't have much 4 10 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS time, the museum's website will sug- lection include Murillo, Ribera, Morales gest a number of short itineraries so and Sorolla. you don't end up missing the essential Apart from Spanish painters, there works. With a special pass (for groups are works by Italian, Flemish, French, of from 12 to 30 people), you can vis- German, Dutch and British grand mas- it the museum exclusively before the ters... Some really well known like The doors open to the public. Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest by The museum houses a good many El Greco, The Three Graces by Rubens, works by Velázquez and Goya. The The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch Triumph of Bacchus, Christ Crucified and Adam and Eve by Dürer. Then and The Spinners by Velázquez, and there are works by Titian, Caravaggio, The Naked Maja, The Clothed Maja and Raphael, Fra Angelico and Rembrandt, The 3rd of May in Madrid, by Goya, are to name just a few, which make El some good examples of these. Other Prado one of the best collections in the outstanding Spanish artists in the col- world. b THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS BY HIERONYMUS BOSCH PRADO MUSEUM, MADRID Photo: Visions Of America LLC/123rf.com America Visions Of Photo: 5 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS IN SPAIN Photo: Visions Of America LLC/123rf.com LLC/123rf.com America Visions Of Photo: a LAS MENINAS BY VELÁZQUEZ EL PRADO MUSEUM, MADRID THE STAR OF THE SHOW Las Meninas, Velázquez To complete your visit, you should go Painted in 1656, it is one of the crown- to the museum's extension designed ing works of Spanish and universal art. A by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, masterpiece of layout and perspectives, where you'll find a café, the shop and a where the artist challenges the customs number of information points. of the time by painting himself togeth- er with the family of Philip IV of Spain One of the most interesting features of and his servants. It is one of Velazquez' the extension is the renovated Cloister greatest works, in which he tried to of Los Jerónimos, a unique area dis- capture the feeling of life and reality playing El Prado's excellent collection by painting an everyday scene from life of sculptures and where new tempo- in the Madrid Alcázar. It inspired Goya rary exhibitions are held. The outer nearly two hundred years later to paint door is a work of art made of bronze by his famous work, Charles IV of Spain and the sculptor Cristina Iglesias. His Family, which you can also see here. L For more information and to buy entry 6 tickets, go to:www.museodelprado.es 10 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS REINA SOFÍA NATIONAL ART CENTRE MUSEUM One of the best museums in Madrid is very near Atocha station and the Paseo del Prado. It was designed to be the continuation in time of the works- ex hibited in the Prado Museum, and ex- hibits modern and contemporary art in two unique, interconnected buildings. The museum's main collection can be Photo: flaperval/123rf.com flaperval/123rf.com Photo: found in the Sabatini building, formerly a REINA SOFÍA NATIONAL ART MUSEUM an 18th century Madrid hospital. The MADRID most eye-catching feature is the twin steel and glass, panoramic lift towers. play are Figure at the Window and The Get your camera ready, as you'll have Great Masturbator by Dalí; Man with a wonderful views from the top of the Pipe and Painting (Snail, Woman, Flower, tower over the square outside and part Star) by Miró; Pink Bells, Tattered Skies, of the city. by René Magritte, and Lying Figure, by Francis Bacon, and so many more. Inside the gallery you'll find one of the finest collections of Spanish art, with In the centre of the building there is a important artists like Pablo Picasso, delightful gardened patio with foun- Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Juan Gris tains and sculptures, an ideal spot to and Antoni Tàpies. They are accom- relax for a while. You can then contin- panied by important works by artists ue by visiting the new area designed from all over the world and in every by the French architect Jean Nouvel imaginable format, with contributions by Kandinsky, Francis Bacon, Diego Rivera, Robert Delaunay and Yves Klein. This fascinating journey through contemporary Spanish art is divid- Photo: maudis60/123rf.com maudis60/123rf.com Photo: ed into three separate itineraries: "The Irruption of the 20th Century: Utopias And Conflicts (1900-1945)", "Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World (1945-1968)" and "From Revolt to Postmodernity (1962-1982)". REINA SOFÍA NATIONAL ART MUSEUM Some of the incredible works on dis- MADRID 7 ESSENTIAL MUSEUMS IN SPAIN which features an enormous, triangular THE STAR OF THE SHOW red ceiling . In the central courtyard you Guernica, Picasso are greeted by a large Roy Lichtenstein statue. From here you can access the The most famous work in this museum is rest of the collection and the tempo- this enormous painting, and in the neigh- rary exhibitions. On the first two floors bouring halls you can also view sketches you get first-hand experience of exper- and photos depicting the creative pro- imental and interactive art, with instal- cess. The scene represented by Picasso in lations, performances and works which this historic painting was inspired by the invite you to become a part of the ar- bombing by German and Italian aircraft tistic experience.