Showing posts with label Madrid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Madrid. Show all posts

14 January 2012

Trip stamps.

During my trip to Madrid, I mostly visited family. But I took a notebook and a watercolor box almost everywhere. So in between shops, friends and museums I took a few breaks to sit and sketch what was in front of me. Here are some of my favorites. All in watercolor.


Plaza Carlos Cambronero , Madrid

El Rio Manzanares.

Plaza de España

Catedral de Salamnca

Fuente de Apolo, Paseo del Prado

Plaza de los Chisperos.


Plaza de Olavide.
Plaza Cánovas del Castillo.

04 January 2009

Ending the year in Sorolla's Museum


While vacationing in Spain, I had the opportunity to visit the new and improved Sorolla Museum. I frequented this museum before but the remodeled version is magnificent. What a treat to end 2008 with a visit to this museum, the house where Sorolla lived and created some of his masterpieces.

I include here some pictures of the entrance to the museum and the studio. In the enormous room that served as Sorolla's studio I enjoyed the detail of Velazquez's print of Inocencio X in the wall, a print of the painting that inspired the model to exclaim in annoyance:"troppo vero!" . I am sure the artist was greatly inspired by it despite the lack of color. The museum displays also the work-bench and palette Sorolla used and the many objects he collected, including the beautiful ceramic jars he used to place his brushes, many ceramics and sculptures of friends like Mariano Benlliure.

Noteworthy was the dining room which he adorned with his own wall paintings much in the manner Goya did albeit with much happier themes of garlands and his wife Clotilde and daughters peeking through the leaves. The garden , which he painted many times is samll but gorgeous and draws a lot of inspiration from Sorolla's native Valencia.