Madrid Day 11
Horrible night. Both Jen and I are struggling with sore throats and coughing. Our testing was negative … so … By the time we headed for breakfast, fortified with drugs, the coughing fits tapered off and we sucked down all coffee we could hold. Did I tell you how excellent Spanish coffee is?
Our skip the line tickets for the Prado were for 10:30. We walked. Thunderstorms the night before cleared the air. The atmosphere was cool and brisk. Invigorated, after a few blocks we actually felt good. Crossed numerous streets … I don’t think I mentioned the warning that Spanish walk signals give. When a green walk light comes on, pedestrians hear an audible “Pio – Pio – Pio -” when pedestrian time is short, the light begins to blink and the sound signal becomes more urgent. A friendly reminder not to get run over.
Made it to the museum on time. Surprised at the nondescript entrance to such a grand museum. Also surprised and deeply disappointed that photos were not allowed. The photos that accompany this were obtained online and are attributed as such. The Prado is huge and even on a weekday it was pretty packed. Maps of the buildings are supplied and audio devices can be rented – although renters are not given any instructions on how to operate them so one has to learn on the fly. I must say though, they were useful and I’m glad we invested in them- 5 Euros apiece. The rooms vary widely in size and decoration. There are arrows on the floor to help control foot traffic.
Presentations are largely from the 16th, 17th & 18th centuries, Initially, they are largely religious in theme. Being raised Catholic I did not think I would ever tire of seeing depictions of the Virgin Mary, However … after 15-16 rooms and 2-300 depictions of her and Jesus and the Holy family together, I’ve changed my mind. Interesting, Mary is always young, demure and usually hauntingly beautiful. Jesus, whether depicted as a child or a man (only once did we see him depicted as a boy) is inevitably severe, serious and well, divine. Although we did see one painting of baby Jesus looking as if someone had just tickled him - the expression was so unique it stood out. Joseph’s depiction on the other hands is all over the place. He is seen as both young and old, homely, and handsome, sad, dismissive, or happy. Amazing that medieval society couldn’t seem to pin him down.
The wide array of facial expressions is what impressed me the most, oh, and the size of the canvases. Many were humongous, filling all or half of an entire wall. A number were huge triptychs (A picture divided into three parts usually hinged together) that told a story. Several began with Eden and the initial temptation which then led to wanton licentiousness which in turn led to hell and punishment. These early artists were such fun guys. And for the most part they were mostly all guys.
We gazed on works by Titian, Goya, Fortuny, Pradilla, Carbenor, Degraine, Bosch, El Greco, Rosales, Aureliano de Beruete, Madrazo, Ortiz Rivera, Alcázar, and Sáenz. Yet, for me, the highlight was the extensive Goya collection located on several levels of the museum. I was genuinely surprised to see the range of topics and emotions Goya experimented with. Prior I had only known of him from his Napoleonic War works. His two most famous, The 2nd and 3rd of May were on display in all their glory, along with several of his lesser-known sketches recording the horror of that war.
His black paintings were particularly striking, Saturno, El Perro, Two Old Men Eating Soup, Fight with Cudgels, and Witches Sabbath, all reinforced the idea that Goya was steeped in sadness, in darkness. But then we perused a wide array of his portraits and group scenes. These showed surprising slyness and humor. The display of the La maja desnuda beside the La maja vestida, left us chuckling. The former revealed a beautiful nude woman lying down with a come-hither look. The latter shows the exact same woman in the exact same pose with the exact same expression - fully clothed. We learned later that the Nude picture caused Goya to be questioned by the Inquisition (“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”) Could that be why the second painting was done???
Thought we might pick up souvenirs and snag a snack at the Prado after our foray through its studios, but the cost of both was prohibitive. We moved on to the Spanish Royal Palace - the Real de Madrid
Palacio
Just like the Prado, we were able to obtain audio devices which we used throughout our tour, unfortunately – once again – except for the exterior of the living apartments, photos were not allowed. Initially I did try to sneak some photos. The opulence of the palace was just too tempting. However, the palace guards were too sharp. I was caught and reprimanded. I wasn’t the only one.
The original palace was built on the site of a Muslim fortress. King Felipe ordered a new palace built on and around that palace which burned in 1734. We were told that the king just may have had it torched so he could build a grander one, although this is disputed due to the amount of artwork lost in that fire – over 500 paintings! The new palace began four years later. It is not disputed that Felipe had been raised in Versailles and wanted his new palace to rival Versailles. He definitely succeeded. The end result contains over 135,000 square meters of living space and just under 3500 rooms. We toured 39 of them. The king no longer lives there, using it only on special occasions.
As I said, the opulence overwhelms the visitor. The gilt, the brocade, the ceiling paintings the tapestries the richly carved hardwood furniture and the enormous number of silver implements and ornaments. Several rooms contained beautiful musical instruments from the Middle Ages. One displayed five – FIVE - Stradivarius instruments. The throne room was impressive but not nearly as large as I had expected. Enormous chandeliers hung from its ceiling and everything seemed to glitter in gold. From the living and governing quarters, we exited and walked some distance to the Royal armory at the far-right corner of the compound.
The armory is certainly worth a visit. So much medieval armor, more than I saw in the Tower of London. Displayed there were ten mounted knights, their chargers fitted out in armor as were their riders. These lifelike displays, all in close proximity called to mind how imposing they must have been on the battlefield. I could almost hear the clank of their armored attire as I walked between them. There too were displayed Saracen and Japanese armor as well as a wide array of wheel lock weaponry and improved armor designed to withstand their bullets – the bullet dented armor on display proved their worth.
By now, Jenny and I were totally beat. Too tired even to scout out dinner. We took the underground back to our hotel and crashed early. Hoping for good rest tonight and better health for tomorrow.
Buenas Noches.
I am posting a selection of the thousands of pictures we took on Facebook. Look me up there and see what we saw!