The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza presents, for the first time in Spain, a selection of letters and postcards written by painters such as Delacroix, Manet, Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Juan Gris, Frida Kahlo or Lucian Freud, belonging to the Anne-Marie Springer collection, in dialogue
with works by these and other artists from the permanent collection. An original proposal that allows us to approach the authors of the letters and their creations from an intimate point of view.
The selection of letters and postcards has been carried out respecting the criteria that gave rise to this unique collection: the gathering of love letters. But in them, we also find the expression of ideas - which the painters sometimes illustrate with small sketches -, insecurities, the defense of their art, the celebration of triumphs, details of the creative process of work, references to historical events, and a great variety of feelings that bring us closer to the life and personality of the artists in a different way. The letters written in times of war by Egon Schiele, Fernand Léger, Gala, or Max Pechstein deserve a special mention, as well as the happiness, comfort, and healing that the authors find in contemplation and artistic practice and that they transmit through their correspondence.
From the most everyday topics to the most aesthetic and professional speculations, these letters immerse us in the lives of the protagonists of the history of the art of the last two centuries and resonate in the works of the museum, fostering an enriching crossover of ideas, words, calligraphy, and painting that invites us to look at the works in a different way.
This publication includes reproductions of 33 artists' letters together with works from the museum and a final appendix with a transcription of the full text of the letters in their original language.