Reina Sofia Museum

Together with the Prado Museum and the Thyssen - Bornemisza Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum forms the so-called triangle of art in Madrid. Three of the most important art galleries in the world that preserve masterpieces of painting from different periods of history.

Founded in 1992, the Reina Sofía Museum offers the visitor a vast collection of works of contemporary Spanish art and continues the times that the Prado Museum does not cover, beginning to exhibit works from 1881, the year of the birth of the artist Pablo Picasso.

The Reina Sofía building

Work of the architect Francisco Sabatini, this museum is located in the Old General Hospital of Madrid, which was expanded a few years ago by Jean Nouvel by means of a modern building composed of a large red aluminum and zinc canopy that houses an auditorium, library and the new exhibition halls.

In the Retiro Park, the Reina Sofía Museum has two more locations in the city: the Velázquez Palace and the Crystal Palace, which host temporary exhibitions.

The Reina Sofía Museum is divided, therefore, into two buildings known as Sabatini and Nouvel, plus two exhibition venues in the Retiro Park: the Crystal Palace and the Velázquez Palace that house temporary exhibitions.

Reina Sofia Museum

Origin of the museum

At first, the objective was to host temporary exhibitions, but later it was decided to turn it into a state museum, baptizing it as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Its new status as a national museum led to a very active policy of purchases and loans, with the purpose of offering a solid repertoire of Spanish art connected with international artistic currents.

Collection

Although it began by exhibiting works by XNUMXth-century artists after Francisco de Goya, over the years new pieces belonging to XNUMXth-century paintings were incorporated, which were gaining prominence in the museum and relegating XNUMXth-century paintings to the background.

The Reina Sofía Museum offers the visitor extensive collections of paintings by such important Spanish painters as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. The most well-known painting in the museum is Picasso's Guernica, made in memory of the tragic aerial bombardment of the Basque city during the Civil War.

To visit the museum, fans of modern art will need several hours, since the museum is really extensive. The curious will need between one and two hours to visit the most important parts and see the main works.

Contemporary art tour

The itinerary through the history of contemporary Spanish art is divided into three different spaces: "The irruption of the 1900th century: utopias and conflicts (1945-1945)", "Is the war over? Art for a divided world (1968-1962) ”and“ From revolt to postmodernity (1982-XNUMX) ”.

Here we can find the most famous work in the gallery: El Guernica by Picasso. Exhibited by the government of the Republic at the International Exhibition in Paris in 1937, this mural expresses the anguish produced by the bombing of Guernica in April of that same year.

Telefónica Collection at the Reina Sofía

Since November 2017, the Cubist collection of the Fundación Telefónica has been added to the collections on display at the Museo Reina Sofía. Through this exhibition we can learn about the central years of Cubism and the subsequent decades.

Schedule

  • Monday to Saturday: from 10:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. to 21:00 p.m. (depending on the time of year).
  • Sunday: from 10:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m. (may vary).
  • Tuesday closed.

Price of admission

  • General admission: € 10. If you buy online € 8.
  • Students under 25 years old, youth card, and under 18 years old: free entry.
  • As with the Prado Museum, you can also buy a ticket valid for two days, the price of which is € 15.
  • Free admission: Monday from 19:00 p.m. to 21:00 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday from 19:00 p.m. to 21:00 p.m. and Sundays from 13:30 p.m. to 19:00 p.m.

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