Every year, the architectural masterpiece of the port city of Bilbao - the Guggenheim Museum, a stronghold of modern art - is visited by millions of tourists. It presents to the attention of visitors the best works of cult artists of our time. However, travelers are attracted not only by the exhibits, but also by the avant-garde building of the museum: executed in a modern architectural style, it amazes with its scope and forms. At the same time, lovers of works of art created long before the 20th century will also be interesting in the Guggenheim , since since the beginning of 2000 masterpieces from different parts of the world have been participating in the museum's temporary expositions.
Architectural features of the avant-garde building
The avant-garde museum was designed by Canadian F. Gehry, the founder of architectural deconstructivism. The interiors flow smoothly from one to the other, and all surfaces of the building gently bend. The building impresses with its complex geometry, which does not contain a single right angle.
In the master's project, the marine theme is clearly traced: the museum is shaped like a ship sailing on a river, and the titanium skin resembles fish scales, in which sunlight plays temptingly. The glass atrium of the building is 55 meters high. F. Gehry managed to create an amazing architectural effect: from the side of the river, on the bank of which the building is located, it looks grandiose, while from the side of the city the museum fits perfectly into the general panorama.
A brief history of the Spanish Museum
The construction of a museum in Bilbao has been planned since 1991. The Guggenheim Foundation chose this city for 2 reasons. Firstly, Spain is attractive to tourists, which means that there will always be visitors to the museum. Secondly, in Bilbao at that time there was not a single special place that could interest travelers. In 1997, the inauguration of the Museum of Modern Art took place, the festive ceremony was attended by King Juan Carlos I of Spain and his wife.
The museum, specializing in the exhibition of works by contemporary creators from the 20th century to the present day, quickly entered the list of must-see tourist destinations. However, during the construction process, he was very often criticized.
Interesting exhibitions
The Guggenheim Museum exhibits breathtaking interactive work, video art and installations that will interest every visitor. At the same time, in order to make the museum interesting not only for fans of contemporary art, temporary exhibitions of famous masters of the past are held here.
The most memorable exhibits of the museum are:
- Mama is a huge metal spider sculpture that is part of the Spiders series, for which its author, Louise Bourgeois, received the Golden Lion award in 1999.
- "Puppy" - a figure of a puppy reaching 13 m in height and made of natural flowers by Jeff Koons
- "The Essence of Time" is the symbol of the Guggenheim Museum. The work is executed in the style of minimalism and consists of 8 metal figures, repeating the texture of the exterior of the building
- Painting "Land of Two Rivers" by Anselm Kiefer
- Sculpture "Lo profundo es el aire" by Eduardo Chillida.
Useful information
The Museum of Modern Art receives visitors according to the following schedule:
- Tue-Sun: 10:00 - 20:00
- Mon. - day off.
Entrance fee:
- Children - free
- Adult = 10 €
- Discount = 6 €
- Group (from 20 people) = 9 €.
The audio guide is provided to visitors free of charge.
Interesting Facts
- Spain hosts the third branch of the famous Solomon Guggenheim Museum, located in New York
- The total area of the Guggenheim Museum = 24,000 m 2
- The Spanish Museum of Modern Art was involved in cinematography in 1999: it was featured in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.
Object type: museum.
