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Madrid International Art Fair
Drawing hundreds of artists from around the world, as well as thousands
of visitors, the Madrid International Art Fair is one of the largest
exhibits of modern day artists.
Artistic categories include a wide range of media including sculpture,
photography, video and experimental art. Hosts of association, magazine,
and art gallery representatives are present to promote their companies.
Artistic discussions and lectures are also part of the activities.
It exhibits priceless collection of art treasures. Admission fee:
EUR43
Monasterio de El Escorial
This historic complex is divided into three parts: the monastery
(with Lucas Jordán's frescoes), the royal mausoleum, and
the palace. Titian, El Greco, and Claudio Coello, as well as wonderful
18th-century furniture decorate the palace’s magnificent rooms
with paintings. Apart from this, the library contains a fascinating
collection of manuscripts and the Museum of Painting and Architecture
is worth a look.
Felipe II commissioned Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera
to build everything between 1563 and 1584 to commemorate Spanish
victory in the battle of San Quintín (1557). Admission fee:
Adult EUR 8, or EUR 9 with a guided tour; children 5-16s: EUR5;
under-5s: free. Wed: free for EU citizens
Palacio Real (Royal Palace)
Built in 1738 on the site of the Madrid Alcázar, this huge
palace was burned to the ground in 1734. The palace was last used
as a royal residence in 1931, before King Alfonso XIII and his wife,
Victoria Eugénie, fled Spain.
Some of its 2,000 rooms--which that "enlightened despot"
Charles III called home--are open to the public today; others are
still used for state business.
Highlights of a visit include the Reception Room, the State Apartments,
the Armory, and the Royal Pharmacy. Other rooms include a rococo
room with a diamond clock; a porcelain salon; the Royal Chapel;
the Banquet Room, where receptions for heads of state are still
held; and the Throne Room. The rooms are literally stuffed with
art treasures and antiques--salon after salon of monumental grandeur,
with no apologies for the damask, mosaics, stucco, Tiepolo ceilings,
gilt and bronze, chandeliers, and paintings.
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Set within the echoing, futuristically renovated walls of the former
General Hospital, originally built between 1776 and 1781, the museum
is a sprawling, high-ceilinged showplace named after the Greek-born
wife of Spain's present king.
Filling for the world of modern art the role that the Prado has
filled for traditional art, the "MOMA" of Madrid (its
nickname) is the greatest repository of 20th-century art in Spain.
Once designated "the ugliest building in Spain" by Catalán
architect Oriol Bohigas, the Reina Sofía has a design that
hangs in limbo somewhere between the 18th and the 21st centuries.
It incorporates a 50,000-volume art library and database, a cafe,
a theater, a bookstore, Plexiglas-sided elevators, and systems that
calibrate security, temperature, humidity, and the quality of light
surrounding the exhibits.
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