Ever since her now deceased husband, German industrialist Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, sold his unrivalled art collection to the Spanish state in 1992, Carmen Cervera has rarely been out of the headlines, her not-quite rags, but certainly to riches, story, combining a glamour, art, and a good old fashioned family feud providing the gossip writers with plenty of copy. Her latest appearance in the media came after she decided to sell Constable’s 'The Lock' earlier this month. The early 19th century landscape is now one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold and went under the hammer for more than €27 million. The former beauty queen — she was Miss Spain in 1961 — says she had … [Read more...] about Profile: The incombustible Carmen Cervera Thyssen
spain art
Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?
More than 36 years after heading for the great military dictatorship in the sky, General Francisco Franco proved his enduring pulling power by stealing the show at last week’s annual ARCO contemporary art fair, appearing in a fridge and as a fast-spinning bust; even his eyebrows were a big draw. Siempre Franco (Forever Franco) was the star attraction at the five-day artfest, a life-size hyperrealist representation of the man who ruled Spain with an iron fist for four decades. The piece was created by Eugenio Merino out of resin, silicon, and human hair, and was decked out in Franco’s trademark green military uniform with purple sash, red cummerbund, and dark sunglasses, crouching inside a … [Read more...] about Franco in a fridge: he pulls in the punters, but is he art?