Land of the Rabbits

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Caught My Eye

I must have really had a lot to drink last night.

I Think I Just Fell in Love

...with Fra Angelico.

I had heard of him, maybe seen a few of his paintings here and there, but he'd made no impression on me. That changed a few days ago.

In a small room at the Thyssen, Fra Angelico's The Virgin of Humility was on display, isolated from all other works, and it just knocked me out.

I'm sure my photo does it no justice, and I have no confidence in my ability to express why I found this work transcendent. I don't usually respond so emotionally to religious art! Words that come to mind include purity, clarity, serenity, and radiance. And the color!

Much of its impact, I'm sure, comes from the fact that it was recently subjected to extensive renovation. Near the painting, there was a six-minute video about that process, and I found it online (with English subtitles). It really added to my appreciation of the painting.

Fra Angelico -- the Angelic Friar -- painted like an angel. No, make that an archangel.

On a Wall In the Hallway Outside Our Airbnb in Madrid

I'm going to guess that the switch underneath this paper and tape does not turn on a light.

I'll go farther: On one occasion at least, a visitor to the building has assumed that it did turn on a light, and therefore pushed it, and caused something undesirable to happen.

Just to be perverse, I gave it a good whack. The entire building collapsed around me.

Candy, Spanish-Style

Picasso's Guernica

Yeah, it resides at the Reina Sofía. Yeah, it's pretty great. I guess. I probably would have taken a photo if there hadn't been so many people standing in front of it.

After the jump, a poem I wrote some time ago based on the painting.

The Rape of Europa by Simon Vouet (1840)

At the Thyssen in Madrid.

See the expression on the face of the bull (Zeus in disguise)?

It's leering!

Three Big Museums in Three Days

I admit I'm a bit museumed-out.

On our first day in Madrid, we visited the Museo Reina Sofia, which specializes in modern and contemporary art. I found the quality of the works on display mediocre; maybe I was just in a bad mood, but despite spending more than three hours there, I took no photos.

(I should mention in passing that Picasso's Guernica is housed at the Museo Reina Sofia. Stay tuned for a separate post on that topic.)

I Understand El Greco Better Now

We parted with Michele and Tom a few days ago. They dropped us off in Toledo, which is famous for two things: its steel (used most notably, in violent days of yesteryear, for the production of swords and knives; and being the home base of El Greco.

At the El Greco museum in Toledo, we saw the following image of Saint Matthew:

And Karen said, "That's not a hand."

Cheese Museum

When we heard there was a cheese museum in Manzanares, we knew we had to make a detour to see it.