{"id":621,"date":"2015-04-12T13:10:09","date_gmt":"2015-04-12T13:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=621"},"modified":"2016-08-21T00:14:31","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T00:14:31","slug":"madrid-unfiltered-april-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/?p=621","title":{"rendered":"Madrid Unfiltered, April 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday, April 10\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hiked over to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales<\/strong> (Convent of the Barefoot Noblewomen), Plaza de las Descalzas, 3, just six minutes away. Tours are limited to 20 people and only two tours in English daily. I arrived at 10:45, and was issued a ticket for noon. Perfect! I wandered through the streets in search of my daily caffeine fix. I avoid the large plazas – side streets have better service and lower prices. Meandering paid off. Five minutes later I had a table and a caf\u00e9 con leche and a croissant. The croissant was fresh and tender. The best I\u2019ve eaten, with the exception of Bob Bon<\/strong>\u2019s which cannot be surpassed.<\/p>\n

\"c&c\"<\/a> Fortified, I was waiting by the forbidding, grim entrance doors by 11:45. The guards were turning people away, sold out for the day. A better option is to book online, but only Spanish language tours are offered.<\/p>\n

\"sandal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We waited in an anteroom lined with paintings of angels. The mood was quiet and respectful, something I like to see in my fellow tourists. Photographs were forbidden, and I didn\u2019t cheat because, you know, nuns. I pulled these off Google Image. I watched a clueless older man who considered himself an exception get his knuckles rapped.<\/p>\n

A dignified man of quiet authority with a particularly beautiful Spanish accent led the tour. If words were music, he spoke in glissandos.\u00a0 The Grand Staircase brought to mind the Benozzo Gozzoli chapel<\/strong> in the Palazzo Medici<\/strong> in central Florence.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/medicipatronsaints.wordpress.com\/works-in-the-exhibition\/benozzi-gozzoli-journey-of-the-magi\/ <\/a><\/p>\n

Every inch painted with dazzling frescoes covering walls, arches, ceiling, and balustrades. Added in the 17th<\/sup> century, the colors were still brilliant.<\/p>\n

\"descalzas2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was struck by a trompe-l\u2019oeil balcony scene beside the staircase with King Felipe IV, Queen Mariana, and their little floss-haired infanta Margarita Teresa, looking much as she does in Vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s Las Meninas. Here’s a brightly lit photo – look on the wall to the left.<\/p>\n

\"stair1\"<\/p>\n

Joanna of Austria founded this convent in 1559, and for 100 years the convent attracted young widowed or spinster noblewomen who brought their lavish dowries with them. Clearly, these ladies were more noble than barefoot. Not that I doubt their devotion, but I can\u2019t help wondering if they chose Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales<\/strong> over being bossed around by men at court. The convent was ruled by women, their own world of wealth and privilege, art and music. Spain’s finest Renaissance composer, Tomas Luis de Victoria, worked at the convent for 25 years. How dreary could it have been?<\/p>\n

We followed our guide, and were followed by his assistant, a young, doe-eyed, dark-haired woman, who looked like half of the portraits of Virgin we passed. Her task was to move the stragglers along the wide hallways of the upper cloister. Mullioned windows overlooked a sunny, grassy courtyard, planted with orange trees. Fruit hung in the green boughs. To quote another visitor, one fully expected to see a unicorn canter by.\"descalzas-reales2\"<\/a>The guide explained about the founding of the order, and what made various paintings or sculptures noteworthy. Except for the occasional bench, the rooms of the cloister we saw were empty, but so embellished that they felt replete.<\/p>\n

Some pieces I keep thinking about:<\/p>\n

The Virgin of Guadalupe shrine enclosed by a pair of riotously rococo gilded and carved doors. The altar was made of stacked mirrored panels, and the 68 panels feature matriarchs of the Old Testament painted by Sebasti\u00e1n Herrera Barnuevo. Girl power!<\/p>\n

\"rococo\"<\/a> \"Monasterio<\/a>A pair of golden crowns \u2013 open in the center for a king and closed like a helmet for an emperor \u2013 resting on purple velvet pillows. I have no clue why there were there.<\/p>\n

Tapestries designed by Rubens and made in Brussels in the 17th century. Displayed in the former nuns\u2019 dormitories, they curved up into the high ceiling and swept the floor.<\/p>\n

\"tapestry\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Flemish room of paintings, including one of a ship sailing for heaven while sinners sank in the seas, pulled down by demons, and a De\u00ebsis of the Virgin Mary, Christ Blessing, and Saint John the Baptist. Very like one I just saw in the Prado<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The many, many portraits of Juana.<\/p>\n

Little robes for altar figures made by the nuns – like divine doll clothes.<\/p>\n

A carved and painted wooden statue of the grieving Magdalene wearing a garment that looks like woven basketry – such intricate carving.<\/p>\n

\"450px-Pedro_de_Mena_Magdalena_penitente_ni\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A shrine, set low in the wall, with miniature figures made of silver. It was for the edification of the children of women who came to the convent after marriage.<\/p>\n

And, of course, at every turn there were virgins virgins virgins, Mary depicted in all her different aspects. It\u2019s worth mentioning one of Fra Angelico\u2019s Annunciations<\/em> was taken from the cloister to the Prado. According to our guide, it took a royal edict to override the nuns\u2019 protest. Note the unusual depiction of Adam and Eve leaving Eden fully clothed.<\/p>\n

\"hqdefault\" I wondered if the richness and the beauty, the might and power these acquisitions represent distracted the nuns or was a conduit to the divine? Or maybe it faded into background noise after a few decades of prayer and service. I was only there an hour and a half. I could\u2019ve stayed a week.<\/p>\n

Afterward, it took me a minute to return to the 21st<\/sup> century. Decided to go in search of that tee shirt place I\u2019d found and lost. Success! Picked up a portable lunch from a bakery. Walked through Retiro Park<\/strong> towards the Prado<\/strong>. I planned to sit on a bench and eat little sausage-stuffed croissants and squares of tiramisu. Note: there is no cholesterol in Spain. This fact is well known.<\/p>\n

The park is large, the trees leafed out in pale spring green, and the paths broad, well laid out, and a pleasure to walk. The problem was there were very few people. Two runners in 20 minutes, no children playing, no families, no one eating lunch. I expected it would be well populated on this beautiful day. I saw a few men sleeping on benches, and three burly men on either side of a path that gave me hard stares. So, no. I kept going, and ate as I walked.<\/p>\n

I returned to the Prado<\/strong>. That’s another great thing about the museum pass,\u00a0 it’s reasonable to drop by for a couple of hours. I went to the earliest section, which made me wish I had a Bible to consult. I know the basics, of course. A Presbyterian childhood is all about the bible stories. I can spot a Magdalene or Noah or Christ confounding the doctors from across the room, but I mostly know my expurgated, childhood version of the stories.<\/p>\n

I sat for an hour and drew details of demons being slain by the Archangel Michael (and his footwear) on postcards for my family. The Prado<\/strong>: where the wild things are. So satisfying. I am starting to miss the act of painting.\"wtwta\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ducked into a room on the way out that had a vibrant Sorolla painting of boys lying in surf that makes me determined to visit his museum. The next door room held four enormous narrative paintings on a grand scale; a blighted lovers tale, a betrayal and mass execution, a despairing prince in exile, and a knight’s conversion to Christianity when confronted by a rotting corpse.\u00a0 Thought of contemporary realism painters that have no place now. What a loss.<\/p>\n

Did a bit of shopping in the Prado<\/strong> gift store. You didn\u2019t expect me to pass by a tee shirt with Vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s signature on it, did you? Walked back via Calle Cervantes and picked up my dinner en route.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, Belle Arte<\/strong> and lunch at the avant-garde restaurant, Al Trapo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, April 10\u00a0 Hiked over to the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales (Convent of the Barefoot Noblewomen), Plaza de las Descalzas, 3, just six minutes away. Tours are limited to 20 people and only two tours in English daily. I arrived at 10:45, and was issued a ticket for noon. Perfect! I wandered through the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[152,199,198,186,148,182,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-church","9":"tag-convent","10":"tag-monasterio-de-las-descalzas-reales","11":"tag-museum","12":"tag-sketch","13":"tag-tour","14":"tag-velasquez","15":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/stair1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7OBxc-a1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=621"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2246,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621\/revisions\/2246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}