- Address: Calle de Santa Isabel, 52, 28012
- Phone: +34 (91) 774 10 00
- Website: museoreinasofia.es
The Queen Sofia Art Center is located in Madrid and is one of the tops of the Golden Triangle of Art (along with the Prado Museum and the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum ). It is named after the now reigning Queen Sofia, but subjects name the Reina-Sofia Museum (Queen Sofia).
History in colors
First of all, the center of arts is interesting for its building. This ancient building itself is a historical monument and architectural heritage. It was built in the sixteenth century during the reign of Philip II for the Hospital Santa Isabel, which also had a shelter for the poor. Today, the memory of this bears the same name of the street.
The history of the Queen Sofia's Art Center itself began in 1986 with a small sculpture exhibition. And after about six years, the King of Spain issued a decree, by which a small then still museum was named national and received a new name. The center of the arts specialized in the works of Spanish sculptors and artists of the twentieth century, and now the 21st century. The grand opening was welcomed by a couple of ruling monarchs.
By the beginning of the new millennium, the museum's fund collected a rich collection of contemporary art items, which required a much larger area for its display. The Treasury financed the development of the Queen Sofia Arts Center and, by 2005, three bright red new buildings were attached to the old building, united by a common style and clearly reflecting their modern content, and the old facade acquired three glass elevator for visitors.
What to see?
In addition to the main collection, the Queen Sofia Museum in Madrid has a large library for several dozen volumes, and also hosts numerous temporary exhibitions. The whole collection of the museum is about 4000 paintings, 3000 drawings, as well as sculptures, prints, photographs, sound and video materials.
The permanent exhibition pleases the visitors with the works of such eminent masters as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Eduardo Childa, Anthony Tapies and others. There are also some foreign masters in the archives, such as Louise Bourgeois and Pierre Bonnard. Painting by Pablo Picasso "Guernica" is considered the pearl of the museum and is located on the first floor. In addition to the picture itself, sketches and sketches of the author in work on this masterpiece are exhibited with her.
How to get there and visit?
You can reach the Arts Center by public transport :
- on the metro : the stop of the first line - Atocha station, the third - Lavapies station;
- on city bus No. C1, E1, 6, 27, 34, 59, 85 to the Plaza Emperador Carlos V stop;
- non-residents need to go to the Atocha railway station , which is located near the museum.
The Museum of Queen Sofia is open from 10am to 8pm, on Sundays until 14:00, on a weekend - Tuesday. A full adult ticket will cost about € 6, children under 5 years old are free.
To that to be surprised?
- During the reconstruction of the museum, not a single tree was damaged;
- The museum is one of the twenty most visited museums in the world;
- the reconstruction of the museum cost € 30 million.
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