What will happen to the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection? Based in Madrid, just opposite the Prado, it’s one of my favourite art galleries and I visit it whenever I’m updating our guide to Madrid.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza gallery is light, spacious and never too crowded and you can see a whole spectrum of art from early Renaissance to the twentieth century in a few hours, as we point out in Madrid mp3 tour. But now it looks as if a row between the Baroness, who still owns the paintings which have a value of about two billion dollars, and her son and heir will put the collection at peril.
The collection is on loan to the gallery and over the next year a decision will have to be made about whether that loan continues or whether the incredibly array of works of art go to a gallery abroad or are bought by the Spanish state. With the country in the grips of a deep recession and fears that it will default on loans this is hardly the time to go about spending huge amounts of money on art, many will say.
The collection of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza includes over a thousand works of art and was acquired by the Spanish state in 1993, with the help, of the Baroness, a former Miss Spain. It’s lovely building – light and spacious – and the paintings are presented in chronological order from early Renaissance works by Duccio, to twentieth century artists such as David Hockney. You can get a complete history of western art in a couple of hours.
The Museo forms one corner of Madrid’s golden triangle of art galleries.
Archive for February, 2010
What will happen to the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection
Friday, February 19th, 2010The best time to see Venice
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010I went to Venice again yesterday. I’m a travel writer and I’ve written at least one guide to Venice. I wanted to go at my favourite time of year to update our Venice audio guide. In the summer it’s hot, sticky and crowded – well even MORE crowded – but in the winter it’s reasonably quiet and usually misty – the best time to use our mp3 Venice tour.
I woke up early – it was still dark as I was having a shower – but by the time I’d finished breakfast the winter sun was breaking through the clouds and mist was rolling off the canal in front of my hotel. All you could hear was the rumble of the Vaporetti coming along side the jetties and tap of feet as early morning Venetian commuters shuffled forwards to find a place to sit or stand.
I’d really recommend my hotel by the way – the Santa Chiara in Santa Croce. It’s good value, it’s quiet and clean and the staff are friendly and helpful. It’s near the railway station and just by the Piazzale Romana so if you arrive by bus from either airport it’s very convenient too. You can see the sign on the top of the hotel from the Piazzale Romana.
Having left the hotel, I started walking through the empty streets. There was no about but the rubbish collectors, the delivery boys with their wheelbarrows – a few hungry cats. Venice was silent and still and just coming to life.
My destination was the Piazza San Marco – I wanted to see it before the tourists arrived en masse for a piece I was writing. In fact I got there at about 8.30am. There was no else about except two Carabinieri and the guy who puts up the famous flags of the Republic every day. I wonder what else he does for a living? Does he just sit around at home and then come back in the evening? Mist was rolling in from the lagoon and the first rays of the morning sunlight were just picking out the stunning gold of the Basilica.
I spent some time – ten minutes? Half an hour? Just looking at this gorgeous riot of colour and decoration. Is it the most beautiful church on earth – or a bizarre mess of styles and overwrought detail? I love the image above the right hand door which shows a man in a turban leaning away in horror from an open casket, holding his nose.
When I was hear a few years ago I overheard two girls talking about it and trying to work out from their guide book what it meant. Being a helpful, knowledgeable travel writer (OK, a bit of a know-all – but only a bit, honest!) I explained the significance of this strange, almost comical scene.
St Mark was not the first patron saint of Venice. That honour fell to San Teodoro but as the city grew in wealth and importance during the ninth century it was decided that it should trade up in the saint stakes. The official story was that Saint Mark had been sailing on a boat in the lagoon when an angel appeared to him and told him that Venice would be his resting place.
The real story, which the Venetians are not at all ashamed of, is that two merchants were sent to Alexandria in Egypt where Saint Mark was entombed. They took the body – or its remains anyway – and brought it back to Venice where it lay in the first church which stood on this site on this site before being transferred to this Basilica.
It was said that the saint’s body was hidden under joints of pork so that the Alexandrians who were Muslim and regarded pig meat as unclean wouldn’t go near the contents of the basket. The main who is holding his nose is obviously horrified at the idea of encountering this store of pork!
The two girls thanked me for me help. I’m still not sure that they really believed that such a beautiful, historic building could have such a bizarre, cartoon-like story so beautifully recreated on its grand façade – but it’s true!
On this particular morning I spent a few hours in St Mark’s Square before deciding to set off to my next stop.