Spain

“Worldly and Nude, Freedom Against Oppression” at the Museo Reina Sofia

The Reina Sofia is Madrid’s modern art museum, with works by Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, and George Braque, among many others. One of its current exhibits relates stories of the murderous oppression in Latin America during the past 100 years. You can read more about the exhibit here. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jun/16/madrid-reina-sofia-latin-america-artistic-boom-enemies-of-poetry This painting by Roberto Matta appears to depict relief from the trauma of war by placing its ambiguous characters in a field of appealing colors, with a sense of balance and what appears to be a spot of sun. The painting is certainly a reference to Picasso’s “Guernica,” on display a few rooms away, which portrays only tragedy. You can read more about what inspired “Guernica” here. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/pablo-picasso-guernica-painting-history

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“Las Meninas” at the Prado

So….instead of writing my usual travel postings, I’m going to post one photo a day with a a little bit of context. Today’s photo was taken in Madrid’s Prado Museum. The painting is “Las Meninas,” by Diego Velazquez. It’s a very complex portrait of a Spanish family that creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures in the painting. I loved it even more after seeing the many ways Picasso deconstructed it in paintings that are exhibited in Barcelona. You can learn more about them here https://kimmie53.com/2020/03/07/catalunyas-many-free-spirits/#more-13292 or here https://www.infobae.com/cultura/2020/10/07/la-belleza-del-dia-las-meninas-de-pablo-picasso/.

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Catalunya’s Many Free Spirits

Barcelona, Spain, is my first stop on a four month adventure through Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. Yahoo! But Barcelona….This delightful city is the center of Spain’s Catalunya region — historic, rich and proudly its own culture. The people here speak Catalan, a spin-off of Spanish, (but yes they also speak Spanish so my crude Spanish is useful but it’s Mexican Spanish so….) For many years, the Catalans have advocated for independence from Spain. This hasn’t been popular with the Spanish government, which last year convicted nine separatist leaders for sedition. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/catalan-independence-what-is-the-story-what-happens-next

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