Baroness Thyssen, Carmen Cervera, answers this newspaper’s call from Monaco, where she was surprised by the news of the approval of her museum project in the old Comedia cinema in Barcelona. In the background, you can hear the sound of the sea and some sailor’s instructions from the crew.
She is happy?
A lot! Very happy to be able to bring my collection to Barcelona permanently. It is my city, I was born there, I was educated there, my schools were the French Lyceum, Lestonnac and Merymount. And I went to the Comedia cinema every weekend to watch movies, I have always been passionate about cinema. What do you want me to say? It seems like a dream come true to me. I had been trying to open a museum in Barcelona for many years. My idea was always that, to install it here. I am Catalan, like my grandparents, great-great-grandparents, my father, who was pure Catalan, and my mother, who was born in Madrid and spoke perfect Catalan, since she married my father when she was 17.
It has been said that there were other cities candidates to keep this museum…
There were offers from Arab countries and other places, but I have shown that I love my country and that this is my city. The Barcelona option was my absolute preference.
There are attempts from many years ago, at the Fira, that were unsuccessful. Did he ever think about throwing in the towel?
I never thought about giving up. In life there are tests that you have to overcome, hard moments, and anyone who says no is lying.
It already has a center in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. What relationship will there be between the Barcelona museum and that place?
We will go together, in both places, naturally yes, my commitment to Sant Feliu de Guíxols does not change anything. There will be works that will be seen in both places, but not only with Sant Feliu, but also with Madrid, Malaga or Andorra, where there are already Carmen Thyssen museums.
When you were building your Catalan art collection, did you already have the idea of exhibiting it in Barcelona?
Always always. Where better? That is why I feel so grateful to Jaume Sabater and Xavier Pujol, from Stoneweg, and to Antonio Delgado Planás, from the family of owners of the building. Thanks to everyone, Barcelona is going to have a new museum, and an important one.
Do you have any favorites among those paintings that are going to come to Barcelona?
They are all my favorites, I am happy that the painters, thanks to my tenacity, are going to be contemplated and recognized here. I believe a lot in them, they are the good artists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. There will not only be old paintings, but also contemporary ones. And we will go further: we will be very attentive to new technologies applied to the art world, there we will give surprises.
What part of your collection will we see?
They will be renewed and everyone will see each other. I have a collection of about 400 works. But not only mine will be seen. This will be a large international museum, which will organize temporary exhibitions, lasting about three months, with important museums from other countries, and we will get great works from other museums in the world, on loan, as we already do in Madrid, Malaga and Andorra.
And will we see in Barcelona works that are now in the Thyssen in Madrid?
Naturally. And from other international museums.
At the MNAC there are also works from his collection. Are you going to move to Comedia?
The MNAC is an excellent museum, I am very happy with it and with the treatment it gives to my works. We must all work together, and not in disunity. I am sure that we all share the joy that Barcelona will now have this new international museum. Anything that helps museums work together is good. We all work for art and beauty.
Have you already thought about the name of the new center?
Museo Carmen Thyssen.
Do you know who is going to direct it? You have worked on some things with Ferran Mascarell…
It’s all in the making, it’s premature, but we are going to have capable people who feel committed and excited about the project.
It is a private initiative, but does it have any type of support or collaboration from public administrations?
We haven’t spoken to them yet, but I would be happy for them to collaborate with us.
What will be the opening date, even if it is approximate?
Quickly, we can say that, it is my greatest hope now. I like things fast, careful, as long as they are well done.
But the entire building will have to change…
On the outside, the façade is sacred, it is one of the most beautiful things in Barcelona, inside we will do the necessary renovations for a museum space.
In addition to the museum, will there be activities?
Of course, like all great art centers, with educational activities, auditorium, shop…
Does this project culminate the expansion of the Thyssen museums or could more be opened?
I am already happy being in Catalonia.
Is the contract for 25 years?
Yes, and I would like it to go for more.
The negotiations have been quick, right?
The first meetings were in Andorra, because I am a resident there, my husband was already resident there, as was my brother… My daughters are attending school in Andorra, in fact I have to deliver their high school diplomas from their institute, next June 14, I They have requested it and the speech will be in Catalan, of course.
