Last week, the inauguration of the third exhibition of paintings “Femina Feminae”, including 29 paintings dedicated to woman’s beauty, took place in The Carmen Thyssen Museum in Andorra. The owner of the collection, Andorran resident, María del Carmen Rosario Soledad Cervera y Fernández de la Guerra, Dowager Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva, popularly known asCarmen “Tita” Thyssen, was kind enough to have an interesting talk with all-andorra.com over a cup of coffee about the global art market, her huge unique collection, new museum in Girona and even about her own passion for painting.
Interview: Irina Rybalchenko
The co-prince of Andorra and Bishop of Urgell visited the museum during the inauguration for the first time ever. Next time, perhaps, can we expect to see the second co-prince, President of the French Republic, Francois Macron?
Of course! That would be great!
How many works of art are there in your collection at the moment?
My collection consists of about one thousand four hundred paintings as well as some sculptures, but not so many – in total it’s about 10. I have four Rodin sculptures, very good ones – “The Eternal Springtime”, “The birth of Venus (The Aurore)”, “The Dream (The Angel’s Kiss)” and “The Death of Athens (Lamentation on the Acropolis)”; two Matisse (one of them is Small Crouching Nude with Arms) and some by Spanish sculptors.
What are the most valuable pieces of art?
Paintings. I have Paul Gauguin’s paintings. The most valuable of them is Mata Mua – the translation is like “Once upon a time” (just like how some children’s fairy tales begin). It’s estimated to be worth about 400 million US dollars.
Another one was painted in Martinique, and is titled “Coming and going” – now it’s in an exhibition in Amsterdam. He painted very few paintings in Martinique. Therefore, they are more valuable than those that were painted in France.
“Coming and going” has been already in Andorra at the previous exhibition. It is possible to see Mata Mua here?
Yes, next year or maybe in 2 years we will create an exhibition including this painting.
Is it possible to calculate how much the whole collection is currently estimated to be worth?
It’s about 2 billion dollars.
What are the recent acquisitions in the collections?
There is pastel painting by Santiago Rusiñol, a Catalan painter. This technique was very developed by French painters like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, for example. Santiago Rusiñol went to Paris to understand more about this pastel technique. He has just a few paintings done in this style. It was a big surprise for me: nobody bet on it in the auction house in Madrid! So I was very lucky. It’s really very unique.
Also, I bought some paintings by the Spanish pop artist Antonio de Philippe. He painted my portrait many years ago, I loved it and I bought it. That’s how I know him. Also, he has a very beautiful painting of Marilyn Monroe. The heels of her shoes… They are guns!
How do you normally acquire paintings – directly or via auctions?
Both.
Who are your favorite artists or painters?
I love all of them! When you collect you cannot say: “This one is the best one”. I would be a strange collector if I collect ones that I don’t love. It is the same as what my husband, Baron Thyssen, said: “I am falling in love with all the paintings I have”. It’s a special feeling – to be able to love paintings…
Every year I receive sales catalogues from all around the world – there are a lot of auctions. And I look at all of them – not only to buy, but also to know what is going on in the world of art. I find out the prices, so I know what is the current market situation.
What are the most expensive works of arts in the world and who are the owners?
There is Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. On a historic night in 2017 at Christie’s in New York, Salvator Mundi, a depiction of Christ as “Saviour of the World” by one of history’s greatest and most renowned artists, sold for $450,312,500, becoming the most expensive painting ever sold at auction! The owner is a sheikh from Saudi Arabia.
A Chinese taxi driver turned billionaire art collector, Liu Yiqian, has paid a record-breaking $170 million for a painting of a nude woman by Amedeo Modigliani in New York.
It was a funny story. The same buyer acquired a second painting from Modigliani where appears the same woman (a very elegant one) as the first painting sold but painted from backsides. So the Chinese owner has the same woman painted by the artist Amedeo Modigliani from both sides.
I wish I had the money to buy it!
