Museo Reina Sofía Facts for Kids

The Museo Reina Sofía is a famous museum in Madrid, Spain. It is Spain's national museum for art from the 20th century. One of its most famous artworks is Guernica by Pablo Picasso. The museum is named after Queen Sofia of Spain. It officially opened on September 10, 1992.

Main entrance to the Reina Sofia Museum

Discovering the Reina Sofía Museum
- What Art Can You See?
- The Museum's Buildings and History
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Discovering the Reina Sofía Museum

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, often called the Reina Sofía Museum, is a major art spot in Madrid. It is located close to the Atocha train and metro stations. This museum is part of Madrid's "Golden Triangle of Art." The other two museums in this triangle are the Museo del Prado and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

What Art Can You See?

The museum mainly shows Spanish art. You can find amazing collections by two of Spain's most famous 20th-century artists: Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Besides paintings, the museum also has a large art library. It has over 100,000 books, thousands of sound recordings, and nearly 1,000 videos about art.

The Museum's Buildings and History

The main building of the Reina Sofía Museum used to be a hospital in the 1700s. Major updates and new parts were added to the old building starting in 1980. In 1988, some parts of the new museum opened to the public. That same year, it was officially made a national museum.

The building's look changed a lot in 1989. Architect Ian Ritchie added three cool glass towers for people to move between floors. Later, a big new section designed by French architect Jean Nouvel opened in October 2005. This new part cost about €92 million. The museum has been an art center since 1986.