Reina Sofía National Art Museum: museums in Madrid at Spain is culture.

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Museums / Contemporary art / Madrid

Reina Sofía National Art Museum

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Front page

Sabatini building © Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Partial view of Room 206 in the museum, with 'Woman with a vase' and 'Guernica' by Picasso. ©Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Nouvel building © Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Garden in the Sabatini building © Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Miró, «Hombre con pipa» © Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Garden in the Sabatini building © Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Temporary exhibitions

An original setting

The museum is located in the old General Hospital built by the architect Sabatini under the orders of Charles III of Spain, and was designated a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1977. It is home to one of the world’s most highly-prized permanent collections.

The museum’s collections come from two sources, the old MEAC (Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art) collections and acquisitions made by the museum itself, in addition to works bequeathed by the Catalan artists Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró. The permanent collection is located on the second floor, divided into rooms dedicated to Nonell, Anglada Camarasa, Iturrino, Zuloaga, Solana and María Blanchard, among other early 20th-century Spanish painters; the Cubist movement, Picasso, Dalí, Miró, and a room entitled "Ideas". Temporary exhibitions are held in the museum’s main venue, the Velázquez Palace and the Crystal Palace. The latest trends by the newest up-and-coming artists are on display in the area called "Espacio UNO", which occupies the ground floor of the main building. Picasso's "Guernica" is one of the most important works exhibited here.

The museum was enlarged in 2005 to create new exhibition areas. The area devoted to the permanent collection has been increased by over 50%, making the Reina Sofia one of the largest contemporary art museums in the world today. The extension comprises three buildings, mainly dedicated to temporary collections. There is also an auditorium seating 500 people and another smaller one with 200 seats, along with a large arts and humanities library.

Essential works

Spatial concept. The end of God

With pieces like this one, Lucio Fontana seeks a new definition of space by the dematerialisation of the work.
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Dialogue of the birds

The artist, Jean Dubuffet, is a key figure in the European avant-garde of the post-World War II period.
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Wind comb I

This sculpture by Chillida is the opening piece in his well-known series of works entitled “Wind comb”.
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Assault guards in the Calle Diputació, Barcelona

This photograph by Agustí Centelles was published in numerous foreign media, and became one of the most emblematic images of the Spanish Civil War.
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Guernica

This vast canvas by Picasso is an indictment of war, and has become a universal emblem.
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Superimposition of grey matter

Work by Tàpies for the 3rd Spanish-American Art Biennial in Barcelona. In this piece he uses the canvas as if it were a real wall, the protagonist of the end production.
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The Last Ten Minutes II

It is a video installation made for the "Documenta 6" international contemporary art exhibition in Kassel. It is one of Antoni Muntadas's most important works.
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Totalisateur

In 1922, Picabia distanced himself from the Dadaist movement in which he had been an active militant, and presented his new style of painting –of which this work is a prime example– in the Dalmau Gallery in Barcelona.
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Face of the Great Masturbator

This painting is the supreme symbol of Dalí's sexual obsessions and was mentioned even by the artist himself in his literary work 'The secret life of Salvador Dalí'.
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Sick child

This piece by Medardo Rosso belonged to Louis Vauxcelles, the critic who coined the term “Cubism”.
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Temporary exhibitions

Exhibition: Hans Haacke. Castles in the air

The exhibition presents the new project produced by Hans Haacke throughout 2011, in addition to a wide selection of the artist's works.
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Exhibition: James Coleman

The Reina Sofía National Art Museum has worked closely with Coleman to present this exhibition of his work.
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Exhibition: Nacho Criado. Collaborating agents

The Reina Sofía National Art Museum, in its sites in the Velázquez Palace and the Crystal Palace, hosts this exhibition dedicated to one of the pioneers of conceptual art and experimental sculpture in Spain.
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Exhibition: Rosemarie Trockel. A cosmos

This exhibition features a wide selection of works by Trockel created throughout different periods of her career, in addition to other pieces which have only rarely been seen together.
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Exhibition: Sharon Hayes. Habla

The Reina Sofía National Art Centre in Madrid hosts a retrospective exhibition on the multidisciplinary American artist Sharon Hayes.
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Exhibition: Spectres of Artaud. Language and the Arts around 1952

This exhibition at the Reina Sofía National Art Museum covers the influence of the French poet, playwright and actor, Antonin Artaud, on plastic arts. It focuses on how important he is for understanding neo-avant-garde trends in the post-war period in the United States, France and Brazil.
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Exhibition: Discovering the 1930s

This exhibition at the Reina Sofía National Art Museum analyses the way artists dealt with interpersonal and international relationships as an artistic driving force in the 1930s.
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María Blanchard

The exhibition traces the work and career of the Spanish painter María Blanchard (1881-1932), who was to become one of the towering figures of the avant-garde at the turn of the century.
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Come and visit

Timetables

Wednesday to Saturday and Monday

Does not close at midday

10:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Sunday

10:00 AM to 2:30 PM

Closed: Tuesdays, 1 and 6 January, 1 and 15 May, 9 November, and 24, 25 and 31 December.

Rates

General: €6

Reduced: €3

Admission free Monday-Friday: 7pm-9pm; Saturdays: 2:30-9pm; Sundays 10am-2:30pm; 18 May, 12 October, 6 December; and for under 18s, university students, Youth Card holders, over 65s, pensioners, disabled persons and ICOM members (International Council of Museums), with ID.

Services

Audio guide

Café / restaurant

Corporate events

Brochures in various languages

Cloakroom service

Programme of cultural activities

Children's workshops

Accessibility

Guide dogs permitted

Lift

Disabled toilets