Among the wide range of exhibitions open in Madrid this summer, one of the temporary exhibitions at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum stands out for offering visitors the works of an artist with a highly personal vision who had not been the subject of a solo exhibition since her death in 2021.
Carmen Laffón, born in Seville in 1934, was the second woman to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid as a full member (in the year 2000—which is easier said than done). A prolific artist, she never stopped painting from her early teens onward, and , as is often the case, throughout her life she experimented with different ways of approaching the themes that were always present in her work, even branching out into sculpture.
That is why the temporary exhibition now open at the Thyssen Museum is titled“Variations.” From her perspective as a keen observer, Laffón found “infinite variations of light and time in the landscape, in the value of the intimate, and in the beauty of simplicity, ”as Paula Luengo, the exhibition’s curator, puts it.
The retrospective features 77 works by the Sevillian artist. The exhibition offers a journey from her oil paintings and charcoal drawings to her later forays into sculpture. The pieces are organized into nine sections, which include both early works and some of her final pieces.
The simplest things as a source of inspiration
Laffón understood that the artist’s challenge was to find a way to “express something profound, but with few words.” She set herself the task of accessing that depth through the objects and landscapes of her immediate world, and then capturing it, as she herself put it, “with the utmost simplicity.”
These objects and visions that were part of her own life would become the focal point of her artistic reflection, initially with a realistic approach, although her figurative art gradually became more refined and moved toward abstraction over time. An admirer of Chagall and Rothko, Laffón’s paintings are characterized by blurred contours, glazes, intimate and poetic atmospheres, and a subtle use of light and color.
In her early years, Laffón captured her unique perspective on the world as she experienced it. She dedicated a series, for example, to her doll Marcelina. She depicted the cradle, the sewing machine, the salt flats, wardrobes, interiors, gardens, and still lifes composed of everyday objects.
Landscape is also a frequent motif in her work, particularly that of the Doñana Nature Reserve as seen from Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz), where she spent her summers from childhood onward and where she would reside for many years. The changes in this landscape over time and the play of light would always be a source of inspiration for her.
Location, hours, and tickets
The retrospective can be viewed in the temporary exhibition hall on the ground floor of the Thyssen Museum (Paseo del Prado, 8). From July 1 to August 30, it is open during summer hours:
- Monday: Closed ( the general free admission on Mondays does not include temporary exhibitions; it applies only to the permanent collection).
- Tuesday through Friday and Sundays: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Saturdays: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (with free admission from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p. m.).
Until it closes on September 27, the exhibition will return to its regular hours. The only difference from the summer schedule is that Tuesday through Friday hours will be extended from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased on the museum’s website, which include access to both this temporary exhibition and the one dedicated to Ewa Juszkiewicz, as well as to the permanent collection and the Carmen Thyssen Collection. Tickets are also available at the museum’s box office.
In addition, the Thyssen Museum offers many free or reduced-price tickets for certain visitor groups (such as those under 18 or holders of the Youth Card or the Madrid Youth Transit Pass). These tickets also grant access to temporary exhibitions, provided they are visited during the museum’s opening hours.