Madrid in winter
Exhibitions
Madrid in winter
Exhibitions
Top exhibitions in Madrid
Not to miss
I’ve just come back from Madrid and I was surprised at how many great exhibitions there are at the moment! So many that unfortunately not all of them fitted into my schedule.
That’s why I thought I’d give you a little overview of what there is to see in Madrid this winter – in case any of you are still planning a city trip…
Yours, Céline
What, when and
where?
Thyssen-Bornemisza
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Centro Centro
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CaixaForum Madrid
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Prado
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Mapfre Fondacion
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Reina Sofia
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Museum
Thyssen-Bornemisza
The Thyssen-Bornemisza currently has two great exhibitions on offer!
The blockbuster exhibition “Woman Masters” presents exclusively female painters who also mainly portrayed women.
The second great exhibition is small, but really, really fine: “Picasso: the sacred, the profane”. His works are juxtaposed with great old masters.
Both exhibitions can be visited with the same ticket!
Maestras
Woman Masters
Exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
until 4 February 2024
An exhibition full of female artists who portrayed women, documented women’s everyday lives and … is mainly visited by women. It was more or less just us here. 😉 But don’t worry, men are also allowed in here, and I also saw two or three pieces. 😉
If you want to see works by Artemisia Gentileschi – which is not always easy and so concentrated (a whole 4 works) then come here! Other more famous artists are Frida Kahlo (1 work), Berthe Morisot (3 works), Käthe Kollwitz (2 works) and Angelica Kauffmann (2 works).
The other artists didn’t say much to me at first, but there were some real gems among them.
It was nice to see that so much space was given to the female artists, who usually fall to the back of the queue.
A must-see in Madrid at the moment!
If you want to find out more about this exhibition, you’ll have to be patient for a few more days – I’ll be writing a more detailed report.
Picasso
Picasso, the sacred and the profane
Exhibition at the Thyyssen-Bornemisza Museum
until 14 January 2024
Picasso is also currently represented with a small exhibition at the Thyssen. Only three small rooms, but all the more fascinating for that – because his works are placed in direct comparison and context to other important artists: Picasso next to Velázquez, Picasso next to Rubens, Picasso next to Matisse – you don’t see something like this every day, and it makes an art historian’s heart beat faster!
Picasso was, of course, in Madrid, visited the Prado and Thyssen and looked at the works of the old masters and incorporated details, composition and colour combinations into his works.
Centro Centro
Monet
MONET: Masterpieces from the Musée Marmottan Monet
Exhibition at the Centro Centro
until 25 February 2024
I didn’t know this museum, otherwise I would have included a visit to this exhibition. That’s why you won’t find any real exhibition pictures here… But it’s great that the Marmotttan-Monet Museum in Madrid has loaned so many works from Paris that it can show this exhibition.
Monet in Madrid – definitely worth a visit!
CaixaForum Madrid
Honoured and feared
Honoured and feared: Female power in art and faith
Exhibition CaixaForum Madrid
until 14 January 2024
Once again, we women are at the centre of this exhibition, which was created in collaboration with the British Museum. It can be seen in Madrid until January and will then travel to the CaixaForum in Barcelona. So it’s worth mentioning it twice here. 😉
It’s about the role of women from antiquity to modern times and in different continents. It is about the many roles of women: Goddess, avenger, lover and mother.
We are also preparing a separate report on this topic.
Prado
Reversos
Reversos (On the back)
Exhibition at the Prado
until 3 March 2024
Unfortunately, I didn’t plan to visit the Prado Museum this time either… There is an exhibition there that is perhaps not very mainstream, but provides fascinating impressions.
The backs of the paintings sometimes have an exciting story to tell.
In addition to works from the museum’s own collection, there are also many international loans that illustrate the exciting theme: including, for example, Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait as a Painter from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam or Magritte’s “The Empty Mask” from the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. In total, you can view the “backsides” of around 100 works here.
Fondacion Mapfre
Sorolla
The Summers of Sorolla
Exhibition at the Fondacion Mapfre Madrid
until 7 January 2024
Joaquín Sorolla, a Spanish Impressionist painter: to be honest, I never really had him on my radar. But in Madrid, not only can you visit his house and studio (also on the list for next time), but you can also see a tiny exhibition at Mapfre until January. And that’s where I was: I immediately fell in love with the painting of the two sisters on the beach in Valencia – it reminds me of my two girls 😉 .
And even if it’s only two small rooms with a maximum of 30 pictures – you should stop by.
There are three more exhibitions at the Fondacio Mapfre. I also had a look at these:
Mathieu Pernot: Documentation / Monumental
Exhibition at the Fondacion Mapfre Madrid
until 7 January 2024
Pernot’s photographs mostly focus on migrants, members of Roma minorities and victims of armed conflicts. Here he documented a Roma family for years. You can see in the pictures how everyone is getting older. A separate photo wall is dedicated to each member of the family. So we see the mother/father, the children and the grandchildren.
Reina Sofia
Picasso
Picasso 1906: The Great Transformation
Exhibition at the Reina Sofia Museum
until 4 March 2024
And finally: another Picasso at the Reina Sofia Museum.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t there either, but since everything and everywhere is centred around Picasso this year, I’d like to mention it.
Why so much Picasso? It’s the year of Picasso because he died 50 years ago.
At the same time, the Miro-Picasso exhibition is taking place in Barcelona, which is also well worth seeing.
Conclusion
And those were just the biggest and best-known museums and artists. There are also many smaller museums and galleries with exciting things to discover…
You might have to decide on the go, depending on what catches your eye.
And hey: the Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor is currently being set up! You might be able to get a hot drink there in December – unless the Christmas market is like the one in BCN, in which case there won’t be anything to drink…
Best regards
Céline
Text- and Imagerights: © Céline Mülich, 2023
other
current exhibitions in Spain
Miro - Picasso in Barcelona
find out more
Woman Masters in Madrid
coming soon
Woman Power in Madrid
coming soon