Museo Reina Sofia

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At the aquarium today, I was completely on my own. I had my own list I had to get done. I cleaned tanks and filters, did magnesium tests in the water (which I’ll actually have to finish on Monday), and “vacuumed” the tank where coral is growing. After work, I had to rush to Eureka because today we’re going to Museo de Arte Reina Sofia - a modern art museum (the 2nd largest museum in Madrid). The whole tour (over an hour) was all on one painter, Picasso. It was very interesting - and I love the way Angel talks! He’s so easy to understand. So the paintings we looked at by Picasso were all about the political parties of Spain and the war they were in at the time. When Picasso painted these, he was actually living in Paris, but there was a huge art expo, and Spain wanted Picasso to represent them. The expo was that summer (I think), and up until that April, he had not painted a single thing, but one day, there was a bombing in a small pueblo which was all over the news. When Picasso read about it, he began to draw. In 4 days, he drew all the “pre-drawings/ideas” for the paintings he would do for the expo. They all involve a horse and a bull (“toro”). In most of the paintings/drawings, the horse is dead and the toro is the center of the painting (obviously winning). However, the most famous painting in this series (the last one) switches the roles. (Maybe later I’ll write about all the symbolism, but I don’t feel like it now, because there was A LOT, but very interesting, and I hope I don’t forget it). After the tour, we were allowed to stay at the museum, but my feet hurt SO BAD, so I just decided to walk back. I got lost. I walked for a really long time. Finally, I found Arenal (the street my school is on) and made it to school. But by the time I got there, I just wanted to go to bed…so I grabbed my bag and left. When I got home, I kicked off my shoes, had some dinner, and went to bed!

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Photos

Museo Reina Sofia
So this is just outside the Museo de Reina Sofia