The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) is the official name Spain's national museum of 20th centuryart (informally shortened to the Museo Reina Sofía or Queen Sofia Museum). The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992 and is named for Queen Sofia of Spain. It is located in Madrid, near the Atocha train and metro stations, at the southern end of the so-called Golden Triangle of Art (located along the Paseo del Prado and also comprising the Museo del Prado and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza).
Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Certainly the most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's great painting Guernica. The Reina Sofía also has fine collections of the works of Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Julio González, Eduardo Chillida, Pablo Palazuelo, Antoni Tàpies, Pablo Gargallo, Lucio Muñoz, Luis Gordillo, Jorge Oteiza, José Luis Gutiérrez Solana and many other significant artists. It also hosts a free-access library specializing in art, with a collection of over 100,000 books, over 3,500 sound recordings and almost 1,000 videos.
The central building of the museum was an 18th centuryhospital. Extensive modern renovations and additions to the old building were made starting in 1980. In 1988 portions of the new museum were opened to the public, mostly in temporary configurations; that same year it was decreed a national museum. A major expansion, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, is currently under its final stage of construction.
External links
MNCARS - Official Website (http://museoreinasofia.mcu.es/portada/portada_ING.php)
Perhaps it was the transferring of Picasso´s "Guernica" to the Reina SofÃa for its permanent collection, which was the decisive milestone in it now being considered one of the most important contemporary artmuseums in the world.
The building which houses the collection was designed in the 18th century by the architect Francisco Sabatini to be built as a hospital, and which was later modified and extended on numerous occasions.
The old Museum of Contemport Art was situated in the university area, far from the historic-cultural centre of Madrid.
The Museo Nacional CentrodeArteReina SofÃa (MNCARS) is the official name Spain's national museum of 20th century art (informally shortened to the Museo Reina SofÃa, Queen SofiaMuseum, or simply The Sofia).
The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992 and is named for Queen Sofia of Spain.
It is located in Madrid, near the Atocha train and metro stations, at the southern end of the so-called Golden Triangle of Art (located along the Paseo del Prado and also comprising the Museo del Prado and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza).
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