In the heart of Madrid and in the middle of its museum mile stands a fine building dating back to just after 1900, originally used as a telecommunications center and general post office.  Now City Hall has taken it over and completely rebuilt the interior, making full use of its previously unused potential. The Mayor has his office there and Council meetings are held in a specially-designed chamber, but much of the space is available for public use, from a state-of-the-art auditorium in the basement to a restaurant and observation terraces on the upper floors. Temporary exhibitions and special events can be held in the glass-roofed courtyard on ground floor level, and access to all floors is easy by panoramic elevators. From Palacio Cibeles it is a short walk along a tree-lined avenue to the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid houses two large collections covering the whole of western art from 1290 to the present day, in addition to regular important temporary shows. Now the museum is offering special visits for families with children between the ages of 6 and 12, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The experience starts with a private tour of the permanent collection before the museum opens to the public, followed by a specially-designed theme workshop. The aim is to stimulate children’s imagination and capacity for observation. In another new move, the museum will keep its temporary exhibitions open until 11 pm on Saturdays for the remainder of 2011.

In old Madrid a new wine experiences center, Vinotium, has opened with the latest audiovisual equipment offering a light-hearted yet instructive view of the various phases and techniques of wine making, for which Spain is world famous. Possibilities include a virtual harvesting simulator, virtual stomping winery and the wine flavors game. Tasting courses are available with wine and/or extra virgin olive oil being combined with Spanish ham and cheese. This could be followed up by a wine or gastronomic tour in one or two of Spain’s prestigious ‘denomination of origin’ wine regions, visiting bodegas (wineries) and tasting their products in situ. Contact Valesa Cultural Services to arrange a tour with the full flavors of Spain.

  Two new high quality services are now available at the airports of Madrid and Barcelona. Meet and Assist for arrivals means the passengers are met at the bridge gate, escorted through Immigration, Customs and baggage collection, and then assisted to their ground transport or driver. On departure, clients are assisted at check-in and with baggage drop-off, escorted to a VIP lounge (optional) and then on to the boarding gate.

The Fast Track service (only available in Madrid’s Terminal 4 at present) provides for meeting arrival passengers at bridge gate, passing through an exclusive independent security control (x-rays), and driving them to the Sala Premium Lounge where they wait comfortably while the staff collect their luggage. The lounge offers full facilities including showers, wi-fi and refreshments. Passport control and Customs formalities take place in the same lounge, and finally the clients are escorted to their transport in a private parking lot. On departure, passengers can be picked up from the  hotel or elsewhere, or met at the airport, and escorted to the Sala Premium Lounge. They are assisted with check-in and baggage drop-off, and again passport control and Customs formalities take place in the lounge. Clients pass through an exclusive independent security control (x-rays) and then are transported by van to board the plane by the bridge stairway. Check with Valesa if you would like to book this new service.

We are excited to hear that researchers at Madrid’s Prado Museum have announced the discovery of a previously unknown work by the master Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a sprawling, 5-by-9-foot tempera-on-linen peasant scene called “The Wine of St. Martin’s Day.”

“The discovery of the painting is fantastic news for the history of art,” Prado director Miguel Zugaza said.

Spain’s El Pais newspaper said the museum was prepared to pay about €7 million ($9.33 million), but that the painting could fetch as much as €25 million if sold in the private sector.

The owners of the painting had wanted to sell it and had unaware that it was a Bruegel. Sotheby’s of Madrid then asked the Prado to study the much-deteriorated work and investigations gradually brought to light that it was a Bruegel.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the patriarch of a prolific Flemish painting dynasty, is known for his landscapes and depictions of peasant life.

Prior knowledge of the painting’s image was known from an ancient engraving, but the work itself “had been taken for lost,” Zugaza said. The painting was brought to Spain from Italy by the ninth Duke of Medinaceli in the 17th century and remained in the family’s hands up until recently, he said. Its current owners were private collectors who did not want to be named.

The minister said the owners had indicated they would prefer it went to a national museum rather than into private hands.

It’s a remarkable event, it’s unlikely that there will ever be another Bruegel discovered again in such an unexpected manner. There are barely 40 Bruegels in the world,” said Culture Minister Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/35860/spain-discovers-a-bawdy-unknown-work-by-pieter-bruegel-the-elder/

http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/23/spain-ids-previously-unknown-bruegel-masterpiece/

http://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2010/09/24/prado-discovers-a-breugel/

http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/comments/spains_prado_museum_restorers_find_unknown_bruegel_masterpiece/

Other works by Bruegel

http://www.abcgallery.com/B/bruegel/bruegel.html

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The public square in front to the CaixaForum Madrid will host monumental bronze cast sculpture of a seven meter high elephant by the artist Miquel Barcelo until June 13.

The sculpture is part of the exhibition that opened its doors on February 10, 2010 and will encompass the trajectory of the Majorcan artist since 1983.

It is the first time that Miquel Barceló has displayed this monumental sculpture, from 2009, as part of an exhibition. The elephant will invite visitors to enter the Madrid CaixaForum and experience the creations of Barcelo, an essential figure in the Spanish contemporary arts scene.

140 works will be part of the show which includes ceramics, sculpture, drawings, watercolors, posters, books and traveldiaries. Barceló himself will be present so the spectator can better understand the creative process of this artist of international importance.

 CaixaForum Madrid is open from Monday to Sunday 10.00 a 20.00 h

 Address: Paseo del Prado, 36

28014 MADRID

 More information:

http://www.esmadrid.com/en/cargarBuscadorAgenda.do?codigoEvento=E5479&codigoLocal=2516&tipo=1

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/caixaforummadrid/caixaforummadrid_es.html

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Less than 4 years after architect Jean Nouvel completed the striking new addition to the Reina Sofia Museum, the museum’s director Manuel Borja-Villel has announced expansion and new offerings to come soon. The Reina Sofia, which is housed in a building that was Madrid’s General Hospital when inaugurated in 1781 (designed originally by Francisco Sabatini and Juan de Hermosilla) and was converted into an art museum in 1980, will diversify and increase the museum’s exhibitions over the next year. In 2009 the museum will feature poetry readings and dance performances to take advantage of the new semi-covered terraced wing designed by Nouvel. Renovations are also planned through 2010 although the museum will not close. More natural light, more exhibition space and a gallery where the bookshop used to be are among the changes that visitors will see. Also projected for 2010 is a complete study of the museum’s most famous work, Picasso’s Guernica, which is currently undergoing a series of tests to determine its state of preservation.

As a result of successful CaixaForum museums in Mallorca, Barcelona, and Madrid, the CaixaForum will open another museum in Girona in 2010. The centre will feature spacious galleries for exhibits from the 21st century, an auditorium to accommodate 200 people, and will be host to various accessory shops and child activity centres. With increasing diversity of options in CaixaForum Gerona, the new contemporary art museum will offer promote knowledge for all ages through exhibitions, concerts, literature and poetry sessions, up-to-date debates, educational workshops, and directed activities.