12 must-see masterpieces at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
Quick answer
The Thyssen's must-see works are Van Eyck's Annunciation, Carpaccio's Young Knight, Caravaggio's Saint Catherine, Ghirlandaio's Giovanna Tornabuoni, Monet's Charing Cross Bridge, Van Gogh's Les Vessenots in Auvers, Hopper's Hotel Room and Pollock's Brown and Silver I. With 2 hours you can see all of them in chronological order.
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The 12 key works, floor by floor
- 1
Floor 2
Annunciation Diptych — Jan van Eyck (c. 1433–35)
Grisaille that imitates sculpture, with an almost photographic technique.
- 2
Floor 2
Young Knight in a Landscape — Vittore Carpaccio (1510)
One of the most enigmatic portraits of the Venetian Renaissance.
- 3
Floor 2
Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni — Domenico Ghirlandaio (1489–90)
A Florentine profile of great refinement.
- 4
Floor 2
Jesus among the Doctors — Albrecht Dürer (1506)
Painted in Venice in just five days, according to Dürer himself.
- 5
Floor 2
Henry VIII — Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1537)
The portrait that fixed the English king's image of power.
- 6
Floor 1
Saint Catherine of Alexandria — Caravaggio (c. 1598)
Dramatic light and realism in one of the few Caravaggios in Spain.
- 7
Floor 1
Lady in Riding Habit — Édouard Manet (c. 1882)
A late Manet with a light, modern brushstroke.
- 8
Floor 0
Charing Cross Bridge — Claude Monet (1899–1901)
London wrapped in fog, from one of impressionism's best-known series.
- 9
Floor 0
Les Vessenots in Auvers — Vincent van Gogh (1890)
Painted shortly before his death, with extraordinary colour energy.
- 10
Floor 0
Street, Berlin — Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1913)
An icon of German expressionism and the modern city.
- 11
Floor 0
Hotel Room — Edward Hopper (1931)
Modern urban solitude in a single image.
- 12
Floor 0
Brown and Silver I — Jackson Pollock (c. 1951)
An example of American action painting.
How to see them all in one visit
Follow the route from top to bottom: floor 2 to floor 0. Our 2-hour route follows this order. If a work is on loan, the floor plan at the entrance will say so.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Hopper?
On floor 0, with 20th-century American art.
Does the Thyssen have impressionists?
Yes, including Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Van Gogh and Cézanne.
Does it have a Caravaggio?
Yes: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, on floor 1.
Does it have Dalí?
Yes, such as Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee, among the 20th-century avant-garde.