Focus on the collection. Painting and pain in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collections

The new edition of Focus on the collection offers a thematic route around the permanent collection, exploring how pain has been represented over the centuries. Pain is a psychological experience that has accompanied humankind since the beginning of time, whether on a physical, emotional or spiritual level and regardless of age, origin and culture. Philosophers, scientists, doctors, painters, musicians and poets have all sought to decipher, understand and represent it. Artists, in particular, have found diverse ways to express their vision of pain through the language of art. 

This guided tour invites participants to look closely at works that reflect concerns and concepts which still today move us and evoke certain experiences, and to appreciate how these images continue to connect with contemporary experiences and emotions.