A Sunday in the City of Art

Even the non-Catholics rest on Sunday in Spain... most stores are closed,
and everyone just takes some time to relax...
Painting by Sorolla, Museo de Sorolla

Ironically, despite almost a decade of studying Spanish, most American students here know practically nothing about Spain, much less Madrid. This issue mostly stems from the fact that Spanish professors in the US often come from South America, so for instance I studied immigration issues with reference to Mexico instead of the Straight of Gibraltar. Lucky, this utter incompetence is quickly being remedied... after three months here I'm sure we'll all be experts!

Hey little sister! Painting by Sorolla, Museo de Sorolla

Take for example, art. Did you know that Madrid is one of the major art meccas of the world? I had no idea! But I assure you that respect for painting and sculpture here is amazing! First of all there is the Prado Museum of Art, which is one of the most important collections of Western art in the world. It contains Velazquez, Goya, Bosch, Rubens, Durer, Rembrandt, and Raphael just to name a few, and was once the personal collection of the Royal Family of Spain. [I haven't gone yet, but don't worry, it's on my agenda... I'm just too cheap to pay, so I have to wait for a free entrance on Sunday from 5:30- 8:00 when I have the energy. :)] Aside from that the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza are also of international repute. Last Sunday, I was lucky enough to see some of these artistic wonders!

Sorolla, Museo de Sorolla

First my program visited the Museum of Joaquin Sorolla, which is actually the house of the Valencian native, converted into a museum displaying many of his most famous pieces. Sorolla was lucky enough to experience great fame in his own time, and painted subjects ranging from the Spanish Royal Family to US President Taft. He was deeply influenced by Velazquez and in the impressionist style is a great fan of light in his works. He is well-know for his beach scenes, and I have to admit they are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!

Sorolla, Museo de Sorolla

After the Sorolla, Kenna and I split off in search of the Reina Sofia. The RS is a museum of modern art, and as such is not really my cup of tea, but it does house Picasso's masterpiece Guernica, an abstract painting he completed in protest of the bombing of the city of Guernica
by German forces (as the request of Franco) during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. In the rooms surrounding the painting there are several displays of propaganda posters and photos of the bombings of Madrid and Guernica- truly brutal things to see. I find it interesting that WWII, something so pivotal to American international identity and our concept of Europe, practically doesn't exist here. Spain was wracked by a horrible and deadly civil war from 1936-1939, and after that remained neutral in WWII. I had just always assumed that all of Europe was involved in WWII, but I guess not... just another assumption I'm correcting about the world around me. :)

Hola!