El Reina Sofía

My apologies! In all of the commotion to write about my feelings on Friday afternoon, I failed to write about our most recent Madrid museum experience!

This past Thursday afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the many “free” opportunities in Madrid. We chose the Reina Sofía museum, which offers free admission nearly every day from 7 to 9 pm. While the Prado houses thousands of ancient relics and Spanish art up to the 20^th century, the Reina Sofía features modern art. Four stories of varied artistic expression include paintings and drawings from some famous Spanish guy named Pablo Picasso, and another famous Spanish guy named Salvador Dalí.

Aside from knowing the genre of art in the museum, Alex and I remained very ignorant about Reina Sofía as we walked into the museum. Absentmindedly, we started on the lower level and experienced several 21^st century installations. We enjoyed them immensely, but left each room feeling slightly ambiguous. I commented that I think ambiguity is the point of newer art, but Alex disagreed. He loves to read every word of every description provided in a museum. The lack of guidance from either artist or curator was slightly frustrating. But never fear! We ventured on.

Mid-20^th century art was next. A few favorites included two sculptures by Alexander Calder and a painting by Joan Miró. I took a photo of the Miró painting, and was immediately reprimanded by the Reina Sofia docent. Oops. Lo siento.

(See photo below. Sadly, it’s the only one!)

The most famous work at the Reina Sofía is Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. This is also arguably his most famous masterpiece. We spent about half an hour admiring the work and learning about its context. Happily, there was much to read! We learned that Guernica was painted in response to the bombing of a town, named Guernica, in Spain’s Basque country during the Spanish Civil War. The painting shows the tragedies of war, and the suffering war inflicts upon individuals. We learned that Guernica has become an international reminder of the tragedies of war and an embodiment of peace. It is quite stunning to behold.

We only made it through two floors out of four because of that beautiful Guernica experience. We hope to return another evening. And that is the great thing about these museum escapades. We can pick a few levels in the Prado or the Thyssen or the Reina Sofía and conquer them at our leisure rather than race the clock.

I encourage you to check out the museum situation in your respective cities! You may find some fabulous art right under your noses!

El Reina Sofía

Cool glass elevators!

Oops! 

Here's a repeat of this picture, but it happened at el Reina Sofía and I think it's cute.