The exhibit was taking place in a newly opened palace, supposedly after having been renovated. We didn't see much actual renovation, but we did see a lovely palace. One example of its beauty were the bathrooms, where the original sinks re still being used:
The exhibit wound throughout several rooms, included a variety of fun things to do with a camera, and exhibited nearly 170 of Escher's wood prints. Because of what I had just been doing in art class, the precision with which Escher worked was not lost on me. His use of simple lines and shapes to create almost otherworldly designs would have been impressive even if he had just drawn them, but to consider they were made from wood blocks was astounding. We loved, loved, the exhibition and only wish we could have taken some pictures of his work. Of course, his work is everywhere . . . but seeing it in original form is incomparable!
Then we proceeded to the Reina Sofia, primarily to see the Guernica. Diana walked us through several different rooms of modern art. The Reina Sofia is the gallery for Modern Art - the Prado for classical art. Therefore, the Reina Sofia holds many works of Joan Miro and Picasso. I am not particularly a modern art lover, so I had a little trouble with Joan Miro's work (even though I am familiar with it), but the Guernica was as billed. Diana helped us understand not only the history behind the work but the symbolism involved. A Spanish major, I should have paid more attention in class, but in my defense, Franco was still in power when I was in college and I don't think a lot was told about the painting until after his death. The very sad story, however, has come to light, symbolized emotionally in this wonderful painting!
Each museum took a little over two hours each - though we could have spent longer. A day well-spent!
No comments:
Post a Comment