Art triangle in Madrid

Like in the Bermuda Triangle, once you enter the Madrid Art Triangle you also disappear. The difference is that in the latter you dissapear into art and beauty. There are three unmissable museums in Madrid:
The Prado Museum. First opened to the public in 1819 it is one of the world museums that every art lover must visit. It has the world´s largest collection of Spanish painting, including some of the best known works of Velázquez, El Greco, Goya and Sorolla. Besides this, the museum has an equally impressive collection of Italian painting ranging from the 14th to the 18th Century, and Flemish painting mainly from the 15th to the 17th Century. Works by Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, Tintoretto, Bosch and so many others. Follow in the footsteps of Manet, Picasso and Dalí and lose yourselves in this great museum.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. A relatively new museum, opened in 1990, it houses a good collection of modern art from the 1900´s to the present. The museum is home to Picasso´s Guernica. This  large painting has come to symbolise not only the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, but of any war.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Another newish museum, opened in 1992, it houses an eclectic collection of painting that spans from the 13th to the 20th Century, with some very good works by Klee, Cézanne, Chagall, Rubens and Durero, amongst others.
The triangle could be converted into a square if we include Caixa Forum. Close to the Reina Sofia Museum it is part of a bank foundation and a gallery rather than a museum where sometimes you can find quite good art exhibitions. It is currently staging an exhibition of more than 100 works by Delacroix.

In sum, be careful not to succumb to Stendhal's syndrome, named after the famous author suffered spells of dizziness when visiting the church of Santa Croce in Florence and seeing so much beauty.


(Pics of paintings taken from the webs of the Prado Museum and Reina Sofia Museum)