Barcelona's Comedia cinemas could become a Thyssen museum

The old Comedia cinemas in Barcelona are closer to becoming a new Thyssen museum, the name of a family of art collectors that already has a museum in Madrid and several works distributed in other museums.  

On Friday the negotiating parties signed a preliminary agreement to make this a reality, but they continue to negotiate the terms.

According to the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, the Pla and Planàs families, who own the property, signed a preliminary agreement with Baroness Thyssen, Carmen Cervera,  and the Swiss investment fund Stoneweg. 

In January 2024, the Comedia Cinemas, located at number 13 Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, closed its doors, like many other cinemas in Catalonia. 

The owners of the premises said at the time that they would lease the premises to "the operator who offers an activity of greater added value to the city and who offers a long-term commitment to the exploitation of the space". 

If the agreement becomes a final deal, the museum will house the Catalan artists' collection belonging to Baroness Thyssen, born in Barcelona. 

The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid houses most of the collection of the Baroness's late husband, Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, and works owned by her, Carmen Cervera.

In Catalonia, Cervera has a museum in northern Catalonia village of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, called the Espai Carmen Thyssen, and some other works in the Catalan National Art Museum (MNAC) in Barcelona.