Today we begin our tour at Palacio Real or the Royal Palace,
Europe’s third greatest palace. With more than 2000 rooms in total, we spun
through about 20 which included the Royal Armory, which houses a vast
collection of full armor for men and horses, swords and shields. The armory ended up being one of my
favorite sights with all of its fine metal work.
The palace was built by King Philip V who hailed from
France, so everything about it is very French, almost a mini Versailles. And it is filled with exquisite
tapestry, elaborate wall coverings and a hand painted ceiling by the ambidextrous
artist, Luca Giordano, who is known for quickly finishing ceilings because he
is said to have painted with both hands at the same time!
The rooms themselves are all decorated in different color
themes and there is a very small room, almost like a closet that is completely
covered in porcelain from floor to ceiling! The original queens quarters (tree
full rooms) have in more modern time been converted into a extra large sized
dining hall which is used even today for royal events.
The royal family now resided in a mansion a few miles
away. This previous home serves as
a national treasure and is a delight to visit.
The afternoon brought us freetime and a chance to see some
modern art without the jetlagged brains of the previous day. We made out way to Rena Sofia Museum on
my request to catch a viewing of Picasso’s Guernica, which depicts the people
of Guernica who were bombed out during World War II.
Reina Sofia, the national museum of 20th century
art houses much of the original art of the Cubist movement, of Picasso and Juan
Gris (one of my favs) and other Spanish artists, such as Miro and Dali. We even caught some glimpses of
Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) and also a film by Buster Keaton!
I have included some of my favorite pieces of artwork that I
was able to photograph.
No comments:
Post a Comment