Category: Travel

Postcard from Madrid, Spain: Reina Sofia reigns royally over contemporary art

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One of Madrid’s most overwhelming museums, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia only displays approximately 1,000 works from its collection of more than 20,000 at a time.

Opened in 1990, the museum places Spanish art from the late 19th century to today in relationship to international contemporary art. Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” is perhaps its most famous piece, but the breadth of the collection is enormous. You can browse through some 7,000 of its works online.

And with so much to show, exhibits spill over to two venues in Retiro Park as well – The Crystal Palace and Palacio de Velazquez. Some of the photos above are of the Palacio de Velazquez, currently housing minimalist sculpture by Carl Andre.

Postcard from Cuenca, Spain: Nature distracts from the abstract

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The historic center of Cuenca seems an unlikely hub for viewing contemporary art. Barely making more sense than the remote outpost of Marfa, Texas.

But it’s here.

The Fundacion Antonio Perez is an incredibly entertaining jumble of contemporary art packed into a rambling maze of rooms in the former Convent of San Clemente.

Perched on a cliff in the “hanging houses” of Cuenca, the collection of Museo de Arte Abstracto Espanol is presented in unexpectedly sleek, contemporary rooms.

Both collections are worth visiting, but the art has so much competition from the spectacular views offered from their windows and patios.

The art scarcely stands a chance. The setting triumphs.

Postcard from Cuenca, Spain: On the trail of the Holy Grail?

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This place probably was pretty crowded in 2012 when some anticipated a cataclysmic end to most of us.

The Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Gracia in Cuenca is entangled in the mystery of the secret location of the Holy Grail. Some believe the 12 gates lorded over by 12 angels represent an architectural code indicating the grail can be found within the cathedral, making it the safest place in the world to be when the doom prophesied by Nostradamus strikes.

The architecture – Gothic-Anglo Norman – of the cathedral reflects the marital union of the royalty commissioning it in 1196. Twenty years after gaining Cuenca back from the Moors, King Alfonso VIII (1158-1214) and Eleanor (1177-1214), the daughter of Henry II of England, had the monumental cathedral underway.

Ignorant during our visit, we failed to look for the 12th angel holding a cupful of clues or any symbols left by Knights Templar to mark a trail to the grail.

But we did find treasures, amazing grilles.

The grillwork fronting the chapels is exquisite, but extremely difficult to photograph without flash. It’s wonderful it will be spared destruction when doomsday arrives.