Museo de Arte Abstracto Español

Top choice in Cuenca


From the outside, they look as if they’ve been sawn off from some high-altitude Tibetan temple, but, from the inside, Cuenca’s famous casas colgadas (hanging houses) have been transformed into a suite of airy, clean-lined galleries displaying some of central Spain’s finest abstract art. Highlights here include the ethereal canvases of Fernando Zóbel (the museum’s founder), meditative works by a trio of Basque luminaries (Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida and Néstor Basterretxea) and the radically stripped down creations of Catalan heavyweight Antoni Tàpies.

Don't miss the extraordinary gouache landscapes by Eusebio Sempere, which really capture the colourful patterned plains of La Mancha, or Antonio Saura's fervent portraits of Brigitte Bardot and Felipe II.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cuenca attractions

1. Casas Colgadas

The most striking element of medieval Cuenca, the casas colgadas (hanging houses) jut out precariously over the steep defile of Río Huécar. Dating from…

2. Museo de Cuenca

0.03 MILES

The city’s history museum is comprehensive, but heavily weighted towards the pre-medieval age. The story kicks off in the Bronze Age, but the real scoop…

3. Museo Diocesano

0.04 MILES

Among the usual profusion of religious relics and pious paintings reside some metaphorical rays of light, including faded Flemish tapestries, a couple of…

4. Catedral de Cuenca

0.06 MILES

Luring visitors in with its impressive old-looking facade (it was actually cleverly rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in 1902), Cuneca’s cathedral is well worth…

5. Museo de las Ciencias

0.12 MILES

This family-friendly science museum should pacify kids who are bored with churches and monasteries. While not large, it has well-presented interactive…

6. Espacio Torner

0.15 MILES

In the atmospheric interior of a late-Gothic convent, some 40 works by the great abstract painter Gustavo Torner are on display.

7. Torre de Mangana

0.19 MILES

The Torre de Mangana, near Plaza Mangana, is the last remnant of a fortress that was built by Cuenca's Muslim rulers. It is all that remains of Cuenca's…

8. Fundación Antonio Pérez

0.24 MILES

This huge modern-art gallery in the labyrinthine ex–Convento de las Carmelitas is a typical Cuenca synthesis of old and new. Stuffed with exhibits that…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "spain/castilla-la-mancha/cuenca/attractions/museo-de-arte-abstracto-espanol/a/poi-sig/1080187/360758",
      "destination": "Cuenca",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Spain",
      "city": "Cuenca",
      "position": "superzone"
    }