The new Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum opened its doors on 24th March 2011.
The Carmen Thyssen Bornemisza Collection Museum in Málaga will house 230 pictorial works granted to it by the Baroness. They are a perfect representation of the best Spanish painting of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with pieces by Julio Romero de Torres, Ignacio Zuloaga, Joaquín Sorolla and Emilio Ocón. Most of the paintings will be freely donated to the Málaga museum until 2025, but a small list of works will be on loan for only three years. The Málaga Thyssen Museum will open its doors in the first quarter of 2011, and aspires to become the model for exposition centres and studios pertaining to that era.
This Málaga museum's catalogue mainly concentrates on the painting of the nineteenth century but the public will also be able to examine the works of, for example, the seventeenth century masters Francisco de Zurbarán and Jerónimo Ezquerra.
In a few months the walls of Vallalón Palace, located in the heart of the historical and artistic district of the city and whose improvements are almost complete, will be filled with naval images and period Costumbrista pictures, such as of folk festivals or bullfights.
The art gallery will become a promenade for exploring the most outstanding movements of that pictorial era, such as Costumbrismo and Preciosismo and "Entresiglos" (Between Centuries) painting. The museum's galleries will permit the presentation of between 150 and 180 works and the remainder will be randomly exhibited.
The 7,200 square metre museum will be divided into three large spaces. The main one, formed by the restored sixteenth century Villalón Palace and an attached building that faces on the streets of Los Mártires and San Telmo, will house the painting exhibits. There will be another building for administrative use facing on Compañía Street, and a third for the offices of the Thyssen Foundation, on Mártires Street.
The building's restoration has allowed the central courtyard to recover the natural lighting that was lost when that area was roofed over in the middle of the past century. The columns have also been restored to their original appearance.
The architects in charge of the project have also emphasized the importance of restoring the original coffered ceiling.
María López Fernández, professor of art history at Complutense University, will manage the art gallery.
