Some guys have all the luck, but I am not sure I am one of them. Yesterday, as I was just about to conclude what I thought was a jolly good old spout about the nice and clever things to do if you ever manage to get Argentina, I inadvertently deleted the whole bloody thing; just like that! Eight hours of work gone before you could press ‘ctrl’. There is a lot to be said for the quill and ink. God be with the days when a house had to be torched to the bare black earth for one to lose one’s . . . apologies, I am rambling. So how does one deal with the aftermath of techno-agnst-rage? Why, an afternoon in Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of course.
To be honest any hiding spot would have been good for me yesterday, including a padded cell. Thankfully, I found myself in the less austere surroundings of the aforementioned gallery and now that the rage has been dissipated by the distraction of one of the great private collections (European and American paintings spanning over seven centuries), I find myself having to share with you some thoughts about art galleries, visiting them and in particular the Thyssen museum.
No one in their right mind actually visits a gallery of art to see all the paintings in it unless they are a) an art student b) the owner c) mad d) Rose Dugdale (WIKI her if you don't know). So you need not worry if you thought you had to sidestep your way around every wall-hanging looking like an all-knowing art afficionado. Collections are not in fact meant to be approached like the fat kid in a sweet shop. Hell, you don't go into a library and start at Aaa - do you? There is no need to pause in front of every single work staring like an owl with an arrow stuck in the back of its head.
So, before going off to see any art collection (particularly to national collections or ‘Goliaths’ like the Louvre in Paris or Thyssen), it really is a good idea to cast off expectations and preconceptions before you head - excuse the pun - in .
Whether or not you think you like art, you probably do have a favourite colour; shapes might tickle you fancy; textures might remind you of your childhood blanket (or your first date’s knickers/jocks); you might pine after a place on earth but be far away from it (hopefully still on the planet nonetheless!); or you might like Sudoku but despite being useless at it still spend hours gawking at that box in the newspaper.
Truth is, we all have a particular tick, some internal bell, which goes Briiiiiiiig, when it sees something it likes - setting off mental fireworks, sending the serotonin levels hopping. Yet, you will not likely get that bell ringing in an art gallery by following a prescribed route involving a rigorous inspection of each picture you pass (I ask you, since when did torture involve a sensation of well-being?). The art buzz is more likely to hit by allowing oneself to roam randomly as one might on a dance floor. While the conscious mind might be predisposed to trotting around in formulaic goose steps (a guaranteed recipe for crippling boredom in any museum), the subconscious mind on the other hand is the inner 'freewheeler'.
Unless you are training for mastermind, roaming randomly means that instead of seeking out the obvious or feeling compelled to see everything, your inner radar is freed to draw you to the images that reflect your emotional likes and dislikes. 
And you do not need to play inspector Morse. If the paintings are hanging on the wall of a museum, you can rest assured that some 'anorak' (bless 'em) somewhere has passed them 'technically' as being a quality item. After that, they just hang there waiting to be appreciated and sometimes loved. Random engagement ensures that each one will be loved by someone. Even if you emerge uninspired, at least you will not feel like your brain has been bashed up by skinhead art dealers, which is sure to be the case if you opt to follow the see-all approach.
After all that, it seems frighteningly contradictory for me to even suggest any paintings worth a look in the Thyssen Museum, so I will not. On the other hand, I have no hesitation is telling you what rocked my boat. But when in Madrid, do yourself a favour and have a random wander around The Thyssen Museum. If nothing else you will be able to say you saw the art collection of the single unluckiest husband on earth (no less that four wives predeceased him . . . that's randomness for you!)
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My Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Art highlights are in RANDOM order (some images attached for your pleasure or irritation).
John Singer Sargeant - Portrait of the Duchess of Sutherland, 1904
Richard Estes - People’s Flowers, 1971
Claude Pissaro - The Cabbage Field at Pontoise, 1873
Francis Bacon - George Dyer in the Mirror, 1968
Michael Sweerts - Boy in a Turban, 1655
James Rosenquist - Smoked Glass, 1962
Paul Gauguin - Dogs Running in a Meadow, 1888
Eduard Degas - Swaying Dancers, 1879
Emile Nolde - Summer Clouds, 1913
Il Bronzino - Portrait of a Young Man as St. Sebastian, ca. 15thC
John Federick Peto - Tom’s View, 1903
Francis Silva - Kingston Point, Hudson River, 1873
Georgia O’Keefe, New York with Moon, 1925
Edward Hopper - The Martha McKeen, 1944
Michael Andrews - Portrait of Timothy Behrens, 1962
Heindrick Bruggheim - Esau Selling his Birthright, 1626
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