Gallery Review - The Reina Sofia

Before, I reviewed the Prado gallery, now going to head a little further down the Paseo del Prado to the modern art gallery - one of the big "three" art galleries in Madrid. This here is home to Picassos, Dalis, Miros etc. The Reina Sofia is close to the Atocha station, and is a little tucked in away from the main Paseo del Prado, and marks the beginning of the old neighbourhood of Embajadores, only a stones throw away from Lavapies.

The Reina Sofia is situated in an old square dotted around with many beer taverns, tapas bars and cafés. The Museum building itself is an interesting blend of modern and old, with its grand old fascade tastefully blended with the modern glass elevators. Personally I think this combination of modern and old works; it is my favourite style of architecture if it is done right.

When I went in the summer last year it was the anniversary of Picasso's Guernika returning to Spain after the death of Franco, so all the galleries had a Picasso special. The Reina Sofia is in fact the home to Guernika, and it was done by showing in the rooms where this masterpiece is showcased the sketches and ideas leading up to this painting. Maybe this is a more permanent feature, but to my shame I have not really been back to this gallery since the summer. It was very interesting to see how the painting developed, on the back of napkins from Parisian cafés, old sketch books. Seeing ideas used in their original state, changed, or not included at all. It was like seeing the jigsaw puzzle and the DNA for this truly powerful painting.


Now what of Guernica? It is pretty much one of Picasso's most famous masterpieces, an excellent piece of modern art with a powerful and horrific message. No words can describe the effect this painting has on you when you stand in front of it. It is huge, it takes up a whole wall. The pain and the horror feels so real when you see it right in your face brush stroke for brush stroke. I have seen this picture many times in books, documentaries, on the internet but nothing had prepared me to see it live. Art that inspires emotions, the senses and not just a picture that gives you pleasure to look at it goes beyond art. It is a powerful message expressed through an alternative medium, I guess the ideal of what modern art tries to express often (and usually fails). It is not a pretty picture, I felt very uncomfortable looking at it, but sometimes art is like that. I have watched films before which made me feel like shit afterwards, yet there was no denying it was a good film. Its kind of that feeling. Worth seeing if you are in Madrid, just visit the gallery to see this painting.


Other works in the Reina Sofia includes Dali, Miro and other modern artists. I wont lie when I say I am not the biggest modern art fan. I love one or two artists and I consider Picasso and Dali some of my favourite artists. When modern art is good it is superb and the best form of art, however when its bad, it is terrible, abysmal. One of my reasons I am in no hurry to visit modern art museums, unless they have trippy art installations which are just fun or Dalis or Picassos. Now the Reina Sofia does not dissapoint. It has some fantastic Dalis too, which I was very happy to find.

So if you are a modern art lover - you will love the Reina Sofia; if you love art but not so keen on modern all the time it is still worth the time to visit.

Romantic Retiro

At the heart of this vast city (well a little bit off the heart as Sol is official km zero), there is a wonderful big green lung that is the Parque del Retiro. A vast park with lots of trees, a few lakes, glamorous monuments, decorative mini-palaces etc. Everything you could want in a park.


Especially during the summer months, Madrid is like a desert with temperatures up to 40 degrees C and its dryness and pollution a green refuge is much appreciated. I arrived in Madrid in August, the worst month in the summer. I decided it would be a nice idea to take my boyfriend at the time there for a romantic picnic while he was over in Madrid. Packed the bag with Tortilla Espanola, Patatas Aioli, various hams and cheese, a bottle of wine and some crusty bread. It was a rather decadent picnic sitting opposite the Estanque monument and lake, while relaxing in the shade.


In the heat of the august sun, we decided to take a boat out onto the lake and cool down a bit. It was a very fun and cliched romantic thing to do, but it was great. Unfortunately the lake was over crowded so had to make sure not to have any run ins with the other boats. It was a lovely way to pass a hot afternoon.

Asides from the Estanque there are two palaces in the park, the Velazquez Palace and the Crystal palace. The crystal palace is my favourite place, as it looks out over a lovely cool lake with a fountain and some interesting swamp trees. Its a really nice place to just cool down if you get over heated (like I did that day).


We walked out around a bit, taking some naps in the shade (well I did, he ran off everywhere like an excited 5 year old). The park is also home to a collection of fountains and statues and contains the only public sculpture in existance depicting the fall of Lucifer.


So when the Madrileñan sun gets to hot and you want some shade and greenery, the paque retiro is the perfect place to find it. However a word of warning, there are a lot of theives and dealers around in this park (the dealers are very polite though), so best to keep a guard.

El Rastro - your local buzzing street market

Apologies for the tardiness of this next post to those who do follow this journal. I have been preoccupied with work and Spanish bureaucracy to write much here. I have also been quite ill too. Mother is here this week, so will also not be updating this frequently.

However a week or so ago I met up with some friends for breakfast near my house, their house and El Rastro! So after a heavy brunch of two mixto con huevos (Spanish toasted sandwich with ham, cheese and egg - yum yum) and lots of cofffee we headed off to the Rastro. El Rastro is a famous Madrid street market in the district of La Latina and held every Sunday in the morning. It dates back some time, to medieval times I believe when the leather tanners would sell their goods, its all there in my Madrid guidebook all the way on the other side of my newly cleaned bedroom, however due to laziness I will not reach over and check. So I cannot guarantee my accuracy. Anyways it has been running a long time, and is now more famed as an antique market and a market where anything goes.

Want a new hippy table cloth? A tacky woodcraft thing which you have no idea what it does? Posters? Painting? Creepy Antiques that only your dead great grandmother would love? You can get it here. However I like to sometimes come for the atmosphere. I am one of these masochistic people who loves to get crushed in a crowd of sweaty strangers on a hot summers day (probably why I like carnivals, if you see my German entry on Cologne). If you dont like crowded places - avoid the Rastro.

Its a vibrant place of life with interesting sites and lots of crap you would never buy as well as lots of crap you buy for friends for presents and even for home. Sometimes you might even find something that is useful. It has some old bohemian romance to it, the old time street market. I think its one of the reasons I love it. Anyway if you are looking for some souvenirs in Madrid come here, or want some random hippy stuff or some nasty smelly antiques (I dont hate antiques, I like them, but the stuff here is flakey as hell!). Or if you like me and want a sensory overload of colours, sounds and people then I highly recommend it.

Only - look after your wallet. Thieves thrive in the Rastro! Dont feed the thieves thank you!