Comedian Dan Rosen revealed an undeniable pattern behind the world’s most interesting art you can visit.
robust people do n’t always have in force sense of taste , but in the showcase of those sure-enough world tycoons , the dribble is undeniable . In aviral TikTok , comedian Dan Rosen share the ultimate travel hack for art lovers : “ When you ’re in a new city , pass over the major museumand go straight to the private collection of a very malign dude , ” he says . Examples of such problematic yet impressive institutions admit : theMorgan Libraryin New York City ; theThyssen - Bornemisza National Museumin Madrid ; andHearst Castlein Los Angeles , which trumpsThe Broad , he say , because philanthropists Eli and Edith Broad but were nt malign enough .
Rosen ’s hypothesis emerged after pay a visit to theCalouste Gulbenkian Foundationin Lisbon , a private graphics collection his Portuguese admirer insisted he suss out out , for its recession specificity . “ He [ Calouste Gulbenkian ] clearly had periods he really screw , whether it was Baroque painting or Islamic ceramic art . And straightaway I was remind of other collections that are similarly idiosyncratic , ” Rosen explains over the phone . Unlike larger art institutions , they ’re not examine to showcase the entirety of nontextual matter history across multiple floors , or attempt to tell a coherent fib . “ It ’s kind of just like , whatever this mortal happened to be into , ” he say .
When Rosen mail about the museum , one of his followers commented , “ Amazing solicitation , but terrible bozo . " That ’s what prompted him to do some research on the British - Armenian businessman , who essentially paved the way for westerly company to spoil the Middle East for its fossil oil resources . Rosen commence to see a pattern between these one - of - a - kind collections and the Machiavellian brainiac that curated them .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
“ I was like , ‘ Oh , this fathom kind of intimate . ’ Frick was a steel industrialist who was famously very savage , fracture work stoppage in the nineteenth 100 , and was one of the robber barons along with Carnegie , ” Rosen explains . “ And Getty was also a very famous oil guy who was notoriously ruthless in his political practice session . So you start to kind of see how this design makes signified , how multitude with money finish up amassing graphics aggregation . ”
But say what you want about these hated titans of industry ; they knew how to put a room together . And when the art is domiciliate in the man of affairs ’s former home or depository library — as is the type with the Frick Collection or Morgan Library — you get to marvel at the architecture as a spectacle in and of itself . Beyond the fact that these collections are often less crowded , off - the - beat - path alternatives , Rosen conceive they also function like time capsules . “ It ’s like , what were the super wealthy really into during this time period ? What were the signifier of effective taste ? , ” he explains .
It ’s a literal shame that billionaires today are n’t amassing such o.k. fine art collection . Rosen believes it ’s because most of them knock off out of college , entered the technical school world , and now stand , almost proudly , in their opposition to the liberal liberal arts . Sam Bankman - Fried famously said he does n’t show book of account . Elon Musk thinks the Cybertruck looks good . “ Jeff Bezos got big selling books , not because he was a book fan , but because it was art that was able to be a commodity to be traded , ” Rosen pronounce .
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation boasts a private collection of works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century.|Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
In the world of AI and NFTs , Rosen say , it ’s not about the content , but rather , the upper at which information is delivered . “ Everything is about organizing data in fresh and exciting ways . And it ’s fundamentally kind of anti - human , I believe , ” he explains . “ So maybe as opposed to the industrialists , who were more focused on the ‘ here , ’ strip world for all its lifelike resource , destroy the environment , and make ruthless monopoly , there ’s still maybe something human about it all , whereas newer billionaires are thinking much more about space and transhumanism and what ’s next . ”
So how do we comfortably experience the collections our greedy forbear leave alone for us ? To find them , Rosen facetiously evoke following the 10th recommendation on a city ’s list of museum . “ If you go toParis , skip the first five and go toL’Orangerieor theMarmottan . Or if you ’re inLondon , control out theSir John Soane ’s Museum , ” he say . Though these institutions were not necessarily founded by evil people , they proffer smaller collections that Rosen feels are able to respire well within the space .
“ You might not see the most famous Monet , but one that you’re able to get the closest to and really enjoy — really look at the brushstrokes , ” he explain . “ And you might be surprised by where some of the greatest piece of work of nontextual matter lie . They ’re not all at the national gallery . ”
Galleria Borghese in Rome is home to the finest sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Caravaggio.|Galleria Borghese
As for whether or not we should feel shamefaced ogling at these hoards of wealth , no doubt acquired by some unfair way , Rosen believes the scathe has already been done . “ These cat are very utter for the most part . And unluckily we already last in the world that they ’ve created , so we may as well hear to get something back by bask what they ’ve go forth us , ” he tell . “ They ’ve create beautiful monument to human achievement and you could just curse them under your breathing spell as you drift . "
To serve you attain that next , deep - geld Picasso , we ’re highlighting some of the respectable individual art collection around the world , calling out the clearly revolting pattern of their owners .
Galleria Borghese
Rome , ItalyWhen you ’re done fighting off crowds at The Vatican , get some unused air at Galleria Borghese , home to some of the all right sculptures by Bernini and painting by Caravaggio . Its namesake , Cardinal Schipione Borghese , used money from the apostolical finances to fund his house ’s investments and , along with the helper of Pope Paul V , threatened his way into obtaining the best art . When creative person Cavalier d’Arpino failed to pay a tax bill , for example , the pope confiscate his full artistic creation collection and demanded he give it to Borghese — includingCaravaggio ’s Boy With a Basket of FruitandSick Bacchus .
Heidi Horten Collection
Vienna , AustriaA comparatively new museum , the Heidi Horten Collection opened in 2022 , showcasing around 50 works you ’ll overleap at the Albertina or Belvedere , from Chagall and Basquiat to Warhol and Klimt . The collection ’s owner , Heidi Goëss - Horten ( 1944 - 2022 ) , was once married to Helmut Horten , a Nazi who amassed a considerable amount of wealth buying Judaic business as part of Hitler ’s Aryanization summons . The museum recognizes the historical weight unit of these descent , however , and according to the website , Goëss - Horten commissioned a German historian and prof to deal a scholarly reappraisal of the economic roots of her husband .
Walters Art Museum
Baltimore , MarylandThe Walters Art Museum is an incredible dive into nontextual matter history , with works that span from 5,000 BCE to the 21st 100 . You ’ll reveal all kinds of treasures , like ancient Roman sarcophagi , lit Qur’ans , and Chinese ceramic . situate in the city ’s Mount Vernon neighborhood , the palazzo - manner sign is free for all to visit . But we detest to break it to you : The museum ’s founder , William Thompson Walters , was a Confederate .
Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum
Madrid , Spain
This collection , completing Madrid ’s Golden Triangle of Art , is a generation - long crusade made by the Thyssen steel top executive . It was started in the 1920s by Heinrich Thyssen - Bornemisza , who bought paintings from American millionaire make for low by the Great Depression and heritage taxes . His Logos , Hans Heinrich , inflate his father ’s stockpile with some German Expressionists like Heckel , Kirchner , and Schmidt - Rottluff . The aggregation was ultimately housed in Spain at the postulation of Thyssen - Bornemisza ’s Spanish wife , but it was n’t on the nose a charitable donation . “ He first gave the belief that he might freely donate his assembling to Spain , and got the government to ramp up the facilities to house the artworks,”The New York Timesreported . “ Then he persuaded the Spanish authorities to devote him $ 5 million a yr to rent the collection while its terminal disposition was negotiated . ”
Museo Soumaya
Mexico City , MexicoA ash gray , snakeskin incus rising from the grounds of Mexico City , the Museo Soumaya is a sight that ca n’t be pretermit . As you go up its six , helical base , you ’ll play works that span Pre - Hispanic Mesoamerica , nineteenth and 20th - century Mexican fine art , and some European Old Masters , in special a large collection of sculptures by Rodin and Salvador Dalí . The museum is named after Soumaya Domit , the late wife of Carlos Slim . That ’s all sweet and good , except Slim is consistenly a subject of controversy . His wealth is equivalent tomore than 5 % of Mexico ’s GDP , and his telecom conglomerate , América Móvil , has kept the nation ’s phone pace among the highest in the world .
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Lisbon , PortugalThe Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation gasconade a private collection of whole kit from Ancient Egypt to the former 20th hundred , including names like Rembrandt , Monet , and Degas . The museum ’s father , Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian , had a particular preference for French decorative arts , specifically the jewelry of René Lalique . The British - Armenian was also relentless in pursuing his stake in the oil companies he grow in the Middle East , earning the nickname “ Mr. Five Per Cent . ”
The Getty
Los Angeles , California“The whole position is malign to the bone , ” Rosen says . Not only was the collection curated by Jean Paul Getty , the oil baron who famously refused to pay the ransom money on his 16 - twelvemonth - honest-to-goodness grandson ’s snatch , but it ’s also housed in a construction designed by Richard Meier , who relinquish from his business firm after being accused of intimate assault . But the web site , Rosen argues , is an architectural masterpiece . “ You have to take this tram to get there , which has amazing views , and it has this kind of grid - cube social organization that ’s almost like vacuous slates for you to wander , ” he says . “ It ’s a postmodernist temple in a way , and there ’s an amazing sculpture garden you may get misplace in . ”
The Frick Collection
New York City , New YorkThe Frick Collection , famous for its Old Masters , houses three of the populace ’s 34 Vermeers , as well as an impressive solicitation of Titians . Walking through the Beaux - Arts sign ( currently under renovation ) , with its serene , plant - meet courtyard , will make you find as though you ’re a character in some deluxe Age period drama . While Henry Clay Frick was gracious enough to bequeath his collection to the public , it was the least he could do . The steel titan famously opposed labor Union , which at long last led to the violent clash known as the Homestead Strike of 1892 . He was also a establish member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club , whose incorrect alterations of the South Fork Dam led to the Johnstown Flood that toss off 2,200 people in 1889 . So real was the public hatred , that a Russian anarchist tried to assassinate him .
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is a generations-long collection built by the Thyssen steel magnates.|Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
Take a tram to the Getty Center and treat yourself to sweeping views of Los Angeles.|Michael Gordon/Shutterstock
