Madrid's Big Three: Number 2 - Thyssen-Bornemisza

Similar in size and scope to the Museo del Prado, the tongue-twisting Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is another vital component in Madrid's 'Triangle of Art.'

Funded by the fortunes of a family of German steel manufacturers, the Thyssen-Bornemisza (oh heck, I'll call it the TB despite the connotations of that abbreviation) is a recent addition to Madrid's art scene. First offered for sale to the British government, Spain outbid Margaret Thatcher & co and the collection has since been on view in the Palacio de Villahermosa for not quite two decades.

Less than a 5-minute walk from the Prado, the TB complements the royal collection in many ways with its rich selection of Italian primitives, English portraiture and French Impressionists. The survey of Western art takes visitors right up to contemporary American painting.

The richness of the collection for me is its own weakness. The collectors had so much money at their disposal they obviously thought 'why have one painting from that period when we can have a dozen?'.

And so there are entire rooms of Italian Renaissance portraits, but practically all of them are of anonymous merchants, so while the quality is high the quantity could be thinned out a bit. Italian religious icons? Again with the fat babies. Dutch seascapes? Wall after wall of sailboats drifting through slimey green waters.

The collectors also sidestepped pretty much any artwork visitors might find challenging, preferring instead prettified American pastorals and Impressionist landscapes. After an hour or two it's a bit like gorging on too many treats from the sweetshop.

Throw in the fact the museum sprawls across several floors spread throughout the palace, including a huge extension that wasn't even on the floor plan we were given, and it can make for a tiring visit.

Highlights for me included:-

Caravaggio's St Catherine

Cranach the Elder's St George

Rembrandt's Self Portrait

Ballerinas by Degas

Singer Sargent's Venetian Onion Seller

Winslow Homer's Portrait of Helena de Kay

Telephone Booths by Richard Estes

...and Hopper's Hotel Room.

And when like this slumped figure you too are ready to flop down somewhere to recover from the artistic overload on your senses, the gorgeous gardens of Parque del Retiro are just up the road.