Reina Sofia Museum Tour

Connect with Dalís and Picassos (including Guernica) in Spain's foremost contemporary art museum

$307 and up

Private

N/A

Small group

Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: Art
Duration: 2.5 hours
Location: Madrid

Photos & Highlights

Explores highlights of the museum including Picasso's masterpiece, Guernica
Led by a local art historian
Reina Sofia Museum

Tour Description

The Reina Sofía is one of Madrid's most important museums and houses a fascinating collection of over 21,000 pieces. The main focus of the museum is Modernist 20th century art, including seminal works by Miró and Salvador Dalí, as well as Picasso's world-changing Guernica. On this 2.5-hour Reina Sofía private tour, we will join a local art historian with skip-the-line tickets to explore this fascinating collection. Beyond simply appreciating each work on its own, we will look closely at the political and social events that shaped this period of Spain's history and attempt to contextualize the art within its time.

Private Reina Sofia Museum Tour

We’ll begin with an introduction to Spain and the art world at the turn of the 20th century, considering the important role played by Spanish artists in the wave of avant-garde movements that became emblematic of the period. We'll examine work from Picasso and Juan Gris in relation to Cubism, to Dalí and Miró’s contributions to Surrealism.

Guernica in Context

Undoubtedly the most imposing and emblematic work found in the Reina Sofia is Picasso’s haunting masterpiece Guernica, the museum's centerpiece, chronicling the artistic response to the Spanish Civil War (for more on this era and the rise of fascism in Spain, try our Spanish Civil War tour). As we marvel at sheer scale of the painting, our guide will explain the bombing that inspired it, talk us through the different elements and the myriad of interpretations that have been applied to them, discuss the painting’s journey through Europe and beyond, and consider how it has become an allegory for the horrors of war. We will also examine the other works exhibited alongside it in Paris in 1937, and how art was used by the government as a means of drawing international attention to the bitter conflict that had erupted in Spain in 1936, whose effects are still profoundly felt in Madrid's art and society today.

Reina Sofia Museum with an Expert

We will then move on to the post-war period (both the Civil War and WWII), addressing the increasing prominence of American art as well as how the climate of the Franco dictatorship influenced the development of artists in Spain and led to the formation of artistic collectives such as the El Paso group and the Dau al Set.

We’ll conclude our private tour of the Reina Sofia on the lower floors of the museum, where the most modern works in the collection can be found, to see how Spanish art has evolved across the second half of the 20th century into the present day, branching out into other mediums and experimental techniques.

Take Aways

At the conclusion of the tour, you will come away with a more robust knowledge of Spanish artists of the 20th century, along with an insight into their influences and evolution within the wider sociocultural context of when they operated, and an appreciation of the continued relevance of their work today.

FAQ About the Reina Sofia Museum Private Tour

Can you focus in-depth on a specific theme?
Yes, as a private tour, you have the option to customize this tour to particular themes or interests. Let us know in the notes section upon booking how you would like to adjust the content, or if there are any specific pieces in the museum that you would like to see.

Will you purchase skip-the-line tickets for me?
Yes, though we will still need to wait in the small security line which is required of all visitors to the museum.

Is this tour wheelchair-accessible?
The museum is fully wheelchair accessible throughout. Please contact us to discuss in more detail your mobility concerns so that we can best advise.

Is this tour appropriate for children?
This walk is not a part of our official family program. That said, we may be able to arrange a visit with a family-friendly guide. Please contact us if you would like to explore this option.

I am interested in taking your Spanish Civil War tour, which I see also visits the Reina Sofia. Will there be overlap?
Our Spanish Civil War tour does indeed visit the Reina Sofia, to discuss Guernica in the context of the war. There will be overlap in that respect. Should you like to book the civil war tour privately, we can adjust the content so that there is no overlap.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Andrea

Andrea Van Houtven received her Ph.D. in art history at the University of Maryland. Her dissertation was on the relationship between art and humanism at the Spanish court in the early 17th century, which inevitably led her to Madrid. She has lived in Madrid for 12 years where she has been teaching art history and art-related courses at various universities and private centers. She also participates in special events at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.

Clara

Originally from Equatorial Guinea, Clara moved to Spain when she was 2 years old. She holds degrees in geography and history and a Master’s in art history from Sorbonne University in Paris. With more than fifteen years experience in museum education and public programs, Clara has worked at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice (Italy), the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C, and a number of institutions within the cultural department of the Ministry of Culture in Spain. She also has designed art and cultural tours for groups for more than 10 years. At present Clara works as a Public Programmes and Communication Coordinator at the Museo del Traje (Costume Museum) of Madrid, organising events, lectures, group visits and educational programmes. An avid traveller, she has lived in Seville, Bilbao, New York City, Washington, D.C., Venice, Florence, London and Paris. Interested in different aspects of Spanish cultures, she also has been developing her other passion: food. She has certificates in wine tasting from the Spanish School of Wine Tasting and the Basque Culinary Center and in Gastronomy from the Complutense University. At the present she enjoys combining her research in Spanish Art History and Spanish Museums with her passion about food in Madrid and in the Basque Country.

Itziar

Itziar Mesanza obtained her first degree in tourism in the Spanish city of Bilbao, famous for its wonderful Guggenheim Modern Art Museum. She continued her studies with a Masters in History and has been living and guiding in Madrid. Passionate about travel, Itziar lived in Dublin for one year and shares Spanish history and culture on specialized tours around Spain.

View more experts

18 Reviews – (4.69)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

The tour was about two hours, and at the end when Michael let us know it was time fir goodbye, my 8 and 6 y.o. Children commented “that felt like only 30 minutes!!!” They and I had such a fantastic time that the minutes just flew by. Michael had the perfect balance of educating and engaging them. The hands-on part with the children drawing exercises was superb. I know the seed for love of art, and appreciating museums was well planted through this experience. Thank you Michael!

Elizabeth

Oct. 22, 2019

Very nice and knowledgable

William

Sep. 9, 2019

It was one of the best Context we've done. Michael shared so much interesting information, facts, and yes, context to the museum, that I wish I would've recorded him. Nothing to improve, impossible.

Mariano

Aug. 11, 2019

View more reviews