This morning I ate my leftover Spanish Omelette, but headed out to visit The Prada, Madrid’s and perhaps all of Spain’s most prized Art Museum. It has paintings of most of the masters, such as Botticelli, Raphael, Rubens, Durer, Caravaggio, etc… but their largest collection is from the Spanish Masters; Velazquez, El Greco, and Goya. I came across a painter that I either didn’t know or don’t remember (I’m beginning to find that they are one and the same, anymore) with whom I now love; Bosch. There was no picture taking allowed in the Museum, so I bought a few postcards and took pictures of them for this blog.
As I walked along side the Museum, I heard a familiar sound. I’d heard it also in Barcelona a few times, but couldn’t discover its source. I could have sworn it sounded like parrots. And guess what, Spain has parrots! Obviously, they are not native to Spain, but evidently they have been released as pets or gotten loose somehow and have created a number of wild colonies and are actually considered a nuisance. I got a picture of two of them.
Here are a couple of pictures outside the Museum.
The paintings I like:
This is Fra Angelico, The Annunciation. Not sure why I love this painting so much, but it has always been one of my favorites. Perhaps it is the posture of the angel, knowing that the news he brings will be strange and difficult for Mary to hear. Or perhaps it’s the way that Mary, crossing her arms in front of her, bowing slightly to the angel, hears, accepts and visually says, “I am a servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to Thy word.” Or it is the barely seen hand of God in the upper right hand corner releasing the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove in the sunbeam to attend to Mary. There is also something about it, in person, that evokes wonder, curiosity, and awe - the pink gown of the angel, the blue velvet of Mary’s attire, the gold wings and halos, and sunbeam all help create a most joyous painting.
This painting of the Last Supper is by Juan de Juanes. I’m always interested in artist’s interpretation of the Last Supper. Over the years scholars, artists, theologians, and tradition have always depicted Judas Iscariot as less than or not part of the chosen twelve. Here he is seen halo-less in the forefront on the right with red hair (obviously a sign of the devil) and dressed in yellow, the color of being a traitor. This depiction of Judas has always bothered me. For aren’t we all sinners and fall short of God’s glory, God’s expectation of our full potential to be holy and blameless? But that’s for another sermon someday - lol.
These two paintings are both paintings of the royal family at the time of the artist’s rendering. The bottom one is by Velasquez in and is his most celebrated masterpiece. The one above it is by Goya. I much prefer Goya’s to be honest. It shows the family in a cheerful condition, although this was far from reality.
However, Goya went through a psychological breakdown in his later years and painted what has become known as his Black Paintings. Many of them were found in his home, upon his death. They are torturous and dark. The first one is called Saturn Devouring His Son and the second one is called The Drowning Dog.
And then the final painting I’ll share is done by Bosch, a fifteenth century painter who painted in a style completely unseen before with vibrant colors and fantastical images.
I’ll close with a picture of my Burrata Salad that I had for lunch. It was so good. If you are unfamiliar with Burratta, it is a soft cheese, thicker than Greek Yogurt, but not as thick as Cream Cheese, but with the tang of Sour Cream.
I had dinner with my friend David at the appropriate 9pm hour (as they do here in Spain)! His wife could not make it as she was working in Galicia. But I had the most wonderful dinner while we caught up with each other. We were so busy talking that I did not take any pictures of our food. However, it was a fusion of Spanish and Asian cuisine - remarkable!
I head to Toledo for the day tomorrow and will be exhausted upon returning, so there probably won’t be a post tomorrow night.
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