Museums in Madrid

I may not be an expert when it comes to understanding art but I do know how to appreciate whenever I come across with one. While we were in Madrid, we made it a point to visit Museo del Prado and Museo Reina Sofia.

Museo Del Prado

Museo del Prado is regarded as one of the greatest museums in the world. Home to a first class collection of Spanish paintings and sculptures,  the museum also houses important works of the Flemish, Italian and German schools.

The museum is very spacious and it took us 2 hours to go around and cover the must-see masterpieces inside; lots of those were done by Velazquez, de Goya, Ribera, Rubens and Bosch. We rented an audio guide which helped us go through all the pieces easily and understand the story behind each and every paintings as well. But if you are an art enthusiast, navigating the museum for a day will not still be enough. The museum is a real feast for the eyes and senses.

I have seen a lot of religious paintings inside and interesting sculptures that made me think about life in general and how we are actually living it but what I have come to love most after I stepped out of the museum are the paintings of Bosch. Although his paintings may come of as a little bit off because of its dark and twisted nature and are mostly chaotic and very busy, it connected on a much higher and more spiritual note with me. For me, his paintings just tell us that we will only reap what we sow; meaning the good will be rewarded with good, and the evil will be rewarded with evil.

 

Reina Sofia

Reina Sofia, on the other hand, houses what the Museo del Prado lacks: modern and contemporary art pieces that even kids would enjoy looking at. For the modern art buffs and Picasso lovers out there, they will surely appreciate the place. Although modern art is not my cup of tea, to see Picasso’s Guernica was already enough for me. For whatever form it may be and cause it may have, war is still war and war is and will always be a tragedy. I do not believe in the values (if there is any, actually) of war and looking at the painting made me feel more the anguish felt by individuals that had been affected by war, particularly the innocent civilians.