Housed in a building that once served as an 18th century hospital, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is Spain’s most prominent collection of modern Spanish art, dating from the 20th century to the 1980s.
While the museum features the occasional non-Spaniard artist, the majority of the collection is strictly Peninsular. To give you an example of some of the art work that we saw, the last three pictures in this sequence are "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso, "Caracol, mujer, flor, estrella" by Joan Miró, and "El gran masturbador" by Salvador Dalí.
To see further explore the collection, visit the museum's virtual tour:
The Palacio Real, or the Royal Palace, was designed by Italian architect Filippo Juvara and then later finished in 1764 by another Italian, Giovanni Battista Sacchetti. As a result, the building is marked by its Italianate baroque colossus with approximately 2800 rooms.
In the end, we decided not to tour the inside, but here are a couple of pictures to depict the building’s architecture.
Although it may seem a distant history, Spain was once one of the most powerful countries in Europe, ruling a vast empire overseas in the Americas. During the 15th century, Spanish vessels began to cross the Atlantic Ocean carrying missionaries and conquistadors alike to explore territories previously uncharted by Europeans. As a result of the encounter between the Spanish and the Amerindians, many sacred artifacts were pillaged from the original indigenous inhabitants of the Americas and carted off to showcase for the European nobility.
The Museo de América in Madrid exhibits these cultural artifacts from the autochthonous civilizations, portraying the heritage of a previously unheard of continent while at the same time providing fascinating insight into the logistics of imperial Spain. Some of the museum’s highlights include ceramics, statuary, jewelry, instruments used for hunting, fishing, and war, in addition to some of the paraphernalia used by the colonizers.
Given the Latin American geek that I am, I was particularly excited about visiting the museum. In the end, we dedicated several hours to peruse the items on display, but I guess it is like they always say, time flies when you’re having fun!
If you’re interested in learning more about the collection at Museo de América, visit the following url address:
In the southwest corner of the Parque del Buen Retiro, the government planted a quite moving memorial, el Bosque de los Ausentes (Forest of the Absent).
In light of the 191 victims of the train bombings that occurred on March 11th, 2004, an olive or cypress tree stands for each victim.
This photo is a glimpse of the memorial at sunset.
Of all the monuments in the Parque del Buen Retiro, perhaps one of the most interesting is the statue of El Ángel Caído (the Fallen Angel, aka Lucifer).
Madrid is one of the few cities in the world with a statue to the devil, which is quite odd considering the cultural influence of Catholicism in Spain....
Although it once served as the private gardens of the royal family and their intimates, the Parque del Buen Retiro is now open to everyone. Although the park boasts of marble monuments, landscaped greenery, and elegant buildings, its most popular feature is the artificial lake in the middle of the park where crowds gather to ward off the Spanish heat.
The Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) is the institution that governs and regulates the Spanish language. For those literary/language geeks, the building is an homage to the elite in Spanish literary history....
Located in the heart of Madrid, the Museo del Prado boasts of one of the most extensive art galleries all over the world. With more than 7000 pieces comprising the museum's collection, the Museo del Prado serves as a window into the artisitic history of Spain. Prominent artists featured in this collection include Velázquez and Goya, among many others.
Because there was so much to see, we spent the entire day there, taking a break around lunchtime to grab a bite to eat. All of that time on your feet wandering from room to room taking in one masterpiece after another definitely makes for a big appetite!
Of Velázquez's works that are featured in the museum, perhaps the most well-known of the Golden Age painter is Las meninas (third picture from the bottom), a portrait of the royal family painted in 1656.
The museum depicts Goya's genius in his pinturas negras (black paintings), described with this term due to the dark colors that predominate to convey the distorted dehumanized appearance of the subjects in the canvas. I think that I would have to say that my favorite of these type of painting by Goya is his Saturno Devorando a Su Hijo, which translates to Saturn Devouring His Son. However, of all of his paintings, the most historically significant are El Dos de Mayo and El Tres de Mayo (second from the bottom). These paintings portray the 1808 anti-French revolt in Madrid that resulted in the execution of various insurgents within the city.
Although the museum primarily focuses on Spanish art, it also houses other works from foreign artists, including but not limited to Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights (bottom picture) as well as works by Carvaggio, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, etc.
For a glimpse at what the museum describes as "15 masterpieces," see the following url:
As we made our way back to the train station, Brian, with his keen sense of judgment for sniffing out graffiti, spotted Cervantes and figures from Don Quixote tagged on the walls around an empty playground. I have to admit, these were my favorites of all of the graffiti he has found so far! Thanks, guapito!
To see the rest of the graffiti from Toledo, see the following url: http://picasaweb.google.com/bkmiller464/GraffitiToledoJuly2008#
No trip to Toledo would be complete without a visit to the city's cathedral, which effectively dominates the skyline symbolizing the city's historical prominence as the heart of Catholic Spain.
The site on which the cathedral has been the center of worship since the earliest days of the Visigothic occupation. During the three centuries of Muslim rule, however, the Visigoths' basilica was converted into a mosque, and in 1085 Alfonso VI vowed that the mosque would be preserved as a place for the city's Muslim population to worship. However, the promise was eventually broken, and the mosque was destroyed.
In its place the cathedral was constructed during the 13th century. It is primarily Gothic in its design, but it also has some mudéjar elements in its interior decoration in addition to influences from the Spanish Renaissance in the various chapels that line the church naves.
After Brian's encounter with the Cruzcampo guy, we stumbled upon the statue of Cervantes in Toledo. Because of the literature geek that I am, I was wicked excited!
Needless to say, we both had our turn posing with the famous sixteenth century novelist, poet, and playwright who wrote what many consider to be the first modern novel, Don Quijote.
After the Sinagoga del Tránsito & Museo Sefardi, we decided to go find lunch. As we were walking around in search of somewhere to get a good almuerzo, Brian stumbled upon this Cruzcampo guy…
As the Spanish would say, Qué poca vergüenza, i.e. no shame.
Another picture to add to the collection of statues that have been sexually violated by Brian.
Housed in a building that once served as an 18th century hospital, the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is Spain’s most prominent collection of modern Spanish art, dating from the 20th century to the 1980s.
