Over the past three decades, the wife of the late Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon, Carmen “Tita” Cervera, has been actively engaged in promoting the artistic heritage gathered by her husband, which is exhibited in Madrid and now owned by the Spanish State. As a great collector and patron herself, she has opened numerous museums since 2011, including in Malaga, Andorra, and Sant Feliu de Guíxols (in Catalonia), with another one planned in her hometown of Barcelona – if all goes well.

After about ten years of bureaucratic difficulties and a standoff with the Ministry of Culture over the transfer of around a hundred works from Madrid to Barcelona, a preliminary agreement has been recently reached. With the support of the investment fund Stoneweg, Cervera is set to secure the transformation and management of the former Comèdia Cinema for the next 25 years. The cinema, owned by the Pla and Planas families, is located at the intersection of Paseo de Gràcia and Gran Via and ceased its activities last January. 

Negotiations to define the project and finalize the details regarding the baroness’s artworks – currently exhibited in Madrid alongside her husband’s collection – will take place in the coming weeks. The state is expected to pay 97.5 million euros over 15 years from 2021 for the collection, and according to the agreement, Cervera should still have free disposal of these works.

Opening image: Wikimedia.