History
of the Collection Thyssen-Bornemisza 
© Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
www.museothyssen.org |
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The Thyssen-Bornemisza
Museum When Baron Hans Heinrich Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza announced that - because the Villa Favorita at Lake Lugano had become too small for the collection and a gallery extension was not possible - a new residence was necessary for his collection, many governments throughout the world, including Germany, England, Japan, Spain and the USA, made a bid to house the collection in their country. The decision was made in favor of Spain. Commensurate with Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza's conviction that works of art should be made available to the greatest amount of people, the Palacio de Villahermosa, which was placed at the collection's disposal, provided ideal conditions based on its site at the center of Madrid, across from the Museo del Prado and near the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. In addition, the works in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection excellently complement the collections of the other two museums. On April 7th , 1988 Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Spanish Minister of Culture, Javier Solana, signed a document formalizing the right to display 775 paintings from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections in Spain for 9 ½ years. A main portion of the collection was designated for Madrid and a smaller portion for Barcelona. At the same time the option to negotiate a permanent transfer of the collection was left open. The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Spanish royal couple on October 8th 1992. In the following year, the opening of the exhibition space in the Monasterio de Pedralbes took place in Barcelona. On June 21st, 1993 the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection was finally acquired by the Government of Spain. Thanks to the generosity of Baron and Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza as former owners, the collections in Madrid and Barcelona continued to be augmented by additional loans which, through their artistic quality and variety, further stressed the unusual character of the collection. Like her husband, Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza is particularly interested in making her collection available to as many people as possible and as a result, the opening of an extension to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza has been planned for the year 2003. |
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