Virtual exhibitions in English
Within a very small area of central Madrid there are three museums/galleries housing some of the finest art known to humanity.
These are the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia national art centre, and the national Thyssen-Bornemisza museum (pictured below).
The latter of the these is currently hosting an exhibition entitled Rembrandt and Amsterdam portraiture, 1590-1670.
With the use of modern technology, the Thyssen-Bornemisza is hosting a virtual visit to the exhibition.
Not only can people take a virtual tour of the entire museum in English at https:// www.museothyssen.org/en, they can also view an introductory video by the Rembrandt exhibition curator Norbert E. Middelkoop prior to visiting it.
This is the first time in Spain that a museum has presented an exhibition on Rembrandt’s activities as a portrait artist.
The exhibition contains around 39 of Rembrandt’s portraits, which are being displayed alongside major examples by other artists active at the same time in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.
The exhibition contains a total of 80 paintings, 16 prints and an etching plate, some of which have never previously been seen in Europe, and reveals the variety and quality of these works in addition to presenting the stories behind the sitters in them: married couples, craftsmen at work, children, scholars, businessmen, the artists themselves and important group portraits.
The National Gallery in London also provides virtual visits to a number of its rooms, although not as free-flowing and accessible as the ThyssenBornemisza, it goes a long way to reminding expats what a wealth of riches the gallery contains.
Another comprehensive online resource is The Frick Collection (www.frick.org).
The collection was assembled by Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919) and is housed in his former residence on Fifth Avenue, New York.
It is recognised as a premier museum and research centre, and is known for its distinguished Old Master paintings and outstanding examples of European sculpture and decorative arts.
The collection contains masterpieces by artists such as Turner, Bellini, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Goya, and Whistler.
As with the National Gallery, it is not as interactive and absorbing as a visit to the Thyssen-Bornemisza, but there are definitely sufficient works to while away some time.