Palacio de Villahermosa, Madrid

Palacio de Villahermosa is the former mansion of the Dukes of Villahermosa, and it now houses the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The building you see here took shape through work in the eighteenth century, using several earlier homes as its foundation. Its present appearance comes from a remodelling carried out in 1805 by architect Antonio López Aguado: three storeys combine exposed brick with stone, and a small Doric portico frames the entrance on Carrera de San Jerónimo.

Look at that portico as a surviving trace of an earlier alteration, ordered around 1783 when ornate mouldings were removed, windows and balconies enlarged, and the walls given a smoother finish. The palace became a setting for distinguished gatherings and cultural evenings. Franz Liszt played here in 1844, a moment recalled by a plaque on the Carrera de San Jerónimo façade.

In 1973, the bank that acquired the building converted its grand interiors into offices, removing the ballroom and private chapel. Rafael Moneo later designed its transformation into a museum. The work began in 1990, the building was rebuilt almost to its foundations while retaining little beyond the façades, and the museum opened with its paintings in October 1992. More than 700 works had to be brought from residences in several countries, in a logistical operation considered Europe's largest movement of artworks since the Second World War.