Villahermosa Palace

Brief Information

The Villahermosa Palace looks like a unified historic facade, but the present-day museum inside was almost completely rebuilt in the early 1990s: when it was converted for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, only the facades were left untouched. So the main thing here is not to look for preserved rooms of the ducal residence, but to read the shell of the building, which survived its transformation from private residence to bank offices, Prado exhibition annex, and museum.

The building stands opposite the Prado and is designed in a related style: three stories, stone, and exposed brick on the facades connect it with the museum section of the Paseo del Prado. Later, two neighboring buildings that had belonged to the Goyeneche family were added to the museum; from the outside they retain a distinct appearance, while inside they are subordinated to the atmosphere of the main building.

What to Notice Right Away

It is worth comparing the two entrances. On the Carrera de San Jerónimo side, a small Doric portico with columns has survived: it was added during the late 18th-century remodeling, when the old Rococo stucco decoration was removed, the windows and balconies were enlarged, and the walls were plastered. Today this entrance is closed, while museum access is located on the opposite facade, in the enclosed garden. In this way, the change of function is visible not in the sign, but in which facade became the working one.

On the main facade, the cornice with the family coat of arms is important. Originally it faced the gardens, and the coat of arms ended up there because of the neighboring palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli: their royal origin gave them the privilege of having no coats of arms of other families opposite them. Stone, brick, portico, and coat of arms present the palace as a building whose external order proved more durable than its interiors.