Cartier in Madrid

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza will be showing this fall The Art of Cartier, an exhibition featuring more than 420 works from the Cartier Collection, from its origins to the present day.  One of the most important on the subject organised to date due to the number of pieces on display, the exhibition reflects the spirit and artistic evolution of Cartier from the time it was founded in Paris in 1847.   The Cartier brothers' energy and their interest in the art of distant and ancient cultures laid the foundations for the artistic identity of the maison. From theGarland style to 1930s Art Deco, and from the inspiration of China to the tutti frutti style, the exhibition spans more than 165 years of creativity, presented in a wide-ranging survey that encompasses numerous different types of jewellery, techniques and design styles.   The designer Jorge Varela, co-curator of the exhibition with the Museum's Artistic Director Guillermo Solana and Paula Luengo of the Thyssen's Curatorial Department, has designed a spectacular installation. Alongside the pieces on display there will be wall projections of the corresponding designs, as well as drawings photographs of the individuals who wore them, offering additional information of enormous historical importance and interest.   Some items recently acquired for the Collection will be on display here for the first time. They include the ruby and diamond necklace that was given to Elizabeth Taylor by her third husband the producer Mike Todd, and the brooch in the form of a flamingo belonging to the Duchess of Windsor, made in collaboration with Jeanne Toussaint, Cartier's artistic director at the time. The exhibition also includes various exceptional loans such as the Garland-style tiara that belongs to the Spanish royal family, given by Alfonso XIII to Queen Victoria Eugenia in 1920 and still worn by Queen Sofía at official ceremonies today, and the jewels that Princess Grace wore for her official wedding photographs in 1956, given to her by Prince Rainier III.