MY VISIT TO THE PRADO

The Prado on the day I went was not free, but it was crowded. I waited in line a long while.

However, the line wove through trees with birds. It was almost like sitting in a park. I could people watch. And near the end a fellow with a guitar played for us.
I might have bought a "skip the line pass" but I saved a good bit of money by not doing that.  I just did not feel sure I knew which day I was going, and as it worked out, I went a day earlier than I had planned simply because I slept in until 9:30 and knew I'd be rested for a long day of art.

I think two fellows cut into line ahead of me. They spoke English, but were German or Swiss. I think they thought they were pretty sharp to cut in. At first I was annoyed, but then I didn't care. No one else questioned them.

I saw them later trying to get into the Metro with expensive tickets that had expired just 50 minutes from their desire to enter. They were not so smart in this place, were they?
So perhaps there is Karma.

When I lived in Spain, Goya became viewed and reviewed, and I've had an interest in him, and in other Spanish painters, ever since. Many of the paintings are like old friends. Others seemed very new to me.

I always liked best the earlier, light hearted cartones para tapices, many of which were commissioned to be hung in  San Lorenzo de El Escorial and El Pardo palaces by Charles III and Charles IV
GOYA'S TAPESTRY CARTOONS

Many seemed to repeat a particular face of a pretty woman.

Included in these sort of paintings was the one with the parasol that was out on exhibition, but they all have the same flavor. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parasol

I saw many more in that style in a rather hard to access part of the museum, the Villanueva Building.
Here is a critical essay on those pieces:
http://eaglefeather.honors.unt.edu/2011/article/125#.WRcBI4WcEQs

I was excited to see so many Goya pieces. I think there may be many more than there were 47 years ago.

Some include young boys playing games, picking fruit, climbing trees and they remind me in theme of Winslow Homer's paintings of young people.

Boys Climbing a Tree
http://www.paintingmania.com/boys-climbing-tree-227_39084.html

Game of Horse and Rider
http://www.zucapaca.com/best-of-goya/francisco-goya-1791-1792-chicken-fights-horse-and-rider/

Boys Picking Fruit
http://www.paintingmania.com/boys-picking-fruit-227_39083.html


Because they included one boy being on the back of another, they reminded me of the death of Frank's Uncle Jesus who after such a game spent his life in what they called a "box" with a broken back.

Children Blowing up a balloon
http://www.paintingmania.com/children-blowing-balloons-227_39072.html

There were quite a few hunting paintings that included guns and dogs. Some of them included fishing as well.

"Line Fishing" showed a boy with his line and bobber fishing while his friends stood above with some birds attached to their belts.

Boys with Hunting Dogs at Palace of Pardo
http://museumdogs.tumblr.com/post/112620262469/francisco-de-goya-spanish-17461828-boys-with


Blind Man's Bluff - Aristocracy had decided to dress as peasants and play the game in a circle, holding hands while one person is in the middle with a blindfold and a long wooden ladle. He tries to tap one of the people in the circle with the ladle and they try to avoid him. Perhaps there are rules I don't know.
http://www.paintingmania.com/blind-mans-bluff-227_39085.html

As well as fishing, the theme of card playing came in a couple paintings. In one, called "The Card Players," the players are gathered around a table and holding their cards. 
https://www.niceartgallery.com/Francisco-De-Goya-y-Lucientes/Card-players.html

One fellow had most of the money in his hat. It was clear he was winning because he was cheating.  People behind the two other players would signal him as to what was in his opponents hands. 
One in particular is very sly. With his right hand he seems to be offering advice to a player, but actually he is directing the player's attention to the hand, so he is not seen signaling the contents with his left hand.

"A Fight at the Venta Nueva," is over a card game, but most of the painting is the action of a fight with the game off to the right. 
https://www.wikiart.org/en/francisco-goya/the-fight-at-the-venta-nueva-1777

SATURN DEVOURING HIS SON
Saturn was told that one of his children would steal his power, so he ate them. Jupiter escaped when his mother substituted a rock wrapped in a towel.
http://www.paintingmania.com/saturn-devouring-his-son-227_38960.html

I saw the other painting too at the Prado that is depicted in this summary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son


Self Portrait
Goya was very concerned about his looks.  He did a number of self portraits.  This is one of them.
http://goya.unizar.es/InfoGoya/Work/Catalogo_/Pintura_/583p.html


Stilts
http://www.paintingmania.com/stilts-227_38948.html

Note the horns being played called dulzaina

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulzaina

Clothed Maji
http://www.paintingmania.com/clothed-maja-227_39069.html

Naked Maji
http://www.paintingmania.com/naked-maja-227_38986.html

Goya was almost in big trouble with the Inquisition over the Naked Maji.  Luckily, he got off. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_maja_desnuda#Inquisition

There is a great controversy over who is the model. It may have been one of Goya's mistresses.
Since coming home I have read a book describing the relationship between Goya and the Dutchess of Alba.
https://www.amazon.com/Goya-Duchess-Alba-Pegasus-Library/dp/3791319841
She may have been the model for these two famous paintings.
They definitely had an affair, as she did with a few other men as well.  She was married young and probably never really loved his husband.  She had no children, but was very generous in her will to her staff.
She died early, before she turned 40.  Sad.  She was quite a character.

The Third of May
http://www.paintingmania.com/third-may-1808-227_38942.html

I was visiting on the Second of May. This is famous, but not my favorite.

Walk in the Park in Andalucia
http://www.paintingmania.com/walk-park-andalusia-227_38931.html

The Wedding
http://www.paintingmania.com/wedding-227_38928.html

A more serious scene is one that Frank remembered. It is called "The Wedding" and depicts a very ugly man who is marrying a very beautiful woman much less his age. His face is just the opposite of the faces in many of the Goya paintings. The crowd around him have various reactions.

They chuckle or look on with some disfavor. Frank remembered one old man on the right with a cane who remains oblivious to everything and just walks on and away.

The painting was in part inspired by a popular play that criticised old rich men marrying young women interested in their money. "The Maiden's Consent" it was called.

One of the things that sets Costa Rica apart from this sort of culture is that they seem to accept relationships of different ages, especially young women and older men. It is not as criticised as it is here or as awkward as it can be in the States.

While these relationships and marriages might be exploitive from either side or both, I think they also might be loving in spite of age.

George Burns lived with a young girl for quite a while and wrote about it in one of his books. John Barth married a student. I was at a party of odd people one night. In came a professor much older than I am now with a young girl who was perhaps twenty. Folks said there that she had fallen for his mind. 

Old People Eating
http://www.paintingmania.com/two-old-people-eating-227_38936.html

A young man and his father were looking at this one and the kid was laughing.  He had better hope he never gets old.

I have seen other paintings that depicted the four seasons by using a person and changing the scene. I always thought it an interesting theme.

Goya has such a group of paintings.

I remembered "Winter" very well except for the slaughtered pig draped over the horse. That would be appropriate for the time of slaughter. I remembered the three fellow with their heads covered to ward off the cold wind and snow, the very winter feeling colors, and the little black and white dog.
WINTER

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/picture/2011/dec/19/francisco-de-goya-snowstorm-nevada

http://www.paintingmania.com/winter-227_38927.html

SPRING escapes me.

SUMMER is a very large scene, filled with hay that is in the process of being harvested. The workers are taking a break. The children are climbing the piled hay. One worker has wine poured into a glass from a wine skin. There is laughter and the faces are clearly much different than those of the upper class.
SUMMER
https://www.wikiart.org/en/francisco-goya/summer-or-the-harvest-1786
OR
SUMMER
AUTUMN features one of those pretty faced girls with grapes in a basket on her head. An upscale dandy is taking grapes and offering them to another beautiful woman while holding them just high enough that a young child cannot reach them.
AUTUMN.  http://www.paintingmania.com/autumn-227_39088.html
https://www.wikiart.org/en/francisco-goya/autumn-or-the-grape-harvest-1787

********************************************************

Another such set I saw was painted by Mariano Salvador Maella
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/310537336781323731/

Here the seasons include the same peasant woman for two of them, and perhaps she is in winter as well but aged. In winter two peasants hover around a fire to keep warm. 
summer
http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_130584/Mariano-Salvador-Maella/Allegory-of-Summer

In Autumn a Bacchus like character raises a glass of wine. 
Winter
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=cbqy8ffL&id=A2ACA285781C62195E6703F84BED8F117D068D6A&thid=OIP.cbqy8ffLOvTBT7HtyZ3I4ADHEs&q=mariano+salvador+maella+winter&simid=607992917605748483&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0


The Drinker
http://www.paintingmania.com/drinker-227_39050.html

I don't quite understand the "disotto insu perspective" but it was mentioned with "The Drinker" which was inspired by a novel Lazarillodo (Lazarillade) Tormes which I also cannot find.

Flying the Kite
http://www.paintingmania.com/kite-227_39004.html

"Fight to the Death with Clubs" shows two men up to their knees in mud with small but lethal clubs. It is a sad painting.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=iAp%2fLBiZ&id=20989CC25142F3989FA3CDFC43307FA050D3D802&thid=OIP.iAp_LBiZwP-AH7sp_b_2dAEsCJ&q=line+fishing+painting+goya&simid=607999922706713246&selectedIndex=2&qpvt=line+fishing+painting+goya&ajaxhist=0

"The picnic" where there is a grand party and one of the party participants toasts the orange seller, again a good looking girl.
_{^{http://www.image-bar.com/images/view/1037386/Francisco-Goya/The-Picnic}}


*********************************

"Dance on the Banks of Mauzones"
http://www.paintingmania.com/dancing-banks-manzanares-227_39061.html

I enjoyed the absence of crowds in the Nuevavilla section of the museum. 

Others I saw included:

The Woodcutters
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556687203923434719/

The Blind Guitarist

with a black water carrier being part of the audience and a guy ignoring him and fishing on the left.
https://www.wikiart.org/en/francisco-goya/the-blind-guitar-pla
yer

Mayo with Guitar
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182818066093906329/

A MANOLA  BY LEOCADIA ZORILLA

https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/a-manola-leocadia-zorilla/8dab47d2-3f3c-4612-81f7-5808268e8a76

Goya's darker works were collected in a section devoted to those paintings. I can't say I like them because they are nothing to delight in. I can't believe they were painted to be displayed in his house.  I would not like to be sitting or eating and see Saturn devouring one of his children.

It was painted for a new house for Goya and so he felt free to paint outside convention.

I remembered them well.

"the Collosus" is very familar. 
The Colosus http://www.paintingmania.com/colossus-227_39068.html

This is said to be a prophesy of the coming of Napoleon, but can be interpreted to present any large tragedy.

A huge giant of a man emerges in a storm and is seen against the sky. He is painted only from his waist up. At the level of his waist are all the people on the land. They are terrified and fleeing. It is suggested that he represents the coming of Napoleon. However, it is a painting predicting destruction and as such it seems very appropriate for modern times.

This was always thought to be a painting by Goya, but now art scholars think it was painted by one of his assisstants.

"The Great He Goat" is famous and I well remembered it. A man with a goat's head addresses a circle of amazed and frightened people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches%27_Sabbath_(The_Great_He-Goat)

"Two Old Men Eating" was there. A teenager from France was laughing at some aspect of this. I thought that when he got old, he would laugh less about the ugliness of these old men.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Old_Men_Eating_Soup

Near this painting was a small one that tickled me. "The Duchess of Alba and La Berta" shows the Duchess as a feisty young girl (dutchess) with lovely, long black hair who is scaring her maid. The maid backs away from her and raises a cross to defend herself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duchess_of_Alba_and_la_Beata

******************

There were quite a few portaits of Charles III, an enlightened king who did much good for the people of Spain. 
He is an odd looking fellow with a big nose. He looks fine as a child, but the later pictures show his unusual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_of_Spain

THESE ARE NOT FROM THE PRADO

At the Clark, just 45 minutes from home, I saw these two Goya pieces.

This first is an early, rough painting of what would become what I saw in the Prado and a tapestry.

 Then this Goya was there as well.  Not perhaps the best of his portraits, but another to add to my experience.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asensio_Juli%C3%A0

**********************

I did not see the Saint Jerome I visted 47 years ago, but perhaps I just missed it. I saw many others by various artists.
I was interested in these because Jerome was a hermit who went into a cave to live away from all earthly delights. 

He generally is depicted with a skull reminding us of death and perhaps with a Bible. While I missed the one I used to see, I did see others and saw similar kinds of pictures.

Antonio de Pereda has one in which Gabriel's trumpet grabs his attention. There too is a cross(wooden) and skull.

And there were others of similar theme.

Saint Anthony and Saint Paul by Velazquez 1634 shows them being fed by a raven as it the case of the hermit in Francisco Collentes "Saint Ohuphris"

In Antonio Capi's version San jeronimo is better dressed. There is the book and skull, but there is also a lion lying on the floor like a pet dog.
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saint-jerome/a61ef988-fd99-45e0-9c6e-50ad3b325b9c?searchid=b83302d6-c7e1-41d5-e86f-a5c96c22e0b8

Similar in theme was Joachhim Patinir's "Temptation of Saint Anthony" There are a few parts of this painting but they are all about resisting temptation. Some of the smaller may have been filled in by other painters.

The major scene on the left front is of Saint Anthony being tempted by three beautiful women who offer him various things, including an apple. An ugly old woman has her breast out and she laughs at the temptation. A money also pulls on his coat.

In the right he is in a woods and tempted by a near naked woman in a small boat. 
https://www.wikiart.org/en/joachim-patinir/temptation-of-st-anthony

Yet another painting is "Landscape with Saint Jerome" in which there is a small cave in a larger landscape of mountains and a lake. He is taking a thorn from the paw of a lion. 
http://community.artauthority.net/work.asp?wid=27044&pos=3

The painter Joachim Patinir is one of the first landscape painters, one of the first to make nature the main part of the painting and people secondary. 
https://mydailyartdisplay.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/joachim-patinir-the-early-landscape-artist/

Temptations of Saint Anthony by Bosch also develop that theme. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptation_of_St_Anthony_(Bosch_painting)

This is much more weird, however, as Bosch is. Here there is a naked whore in a doorway. Overhead is a huge judgemental woman's head built into the small building and above her birds and bees. In the air is a man riding a flying fish and demon like lizards. Near Jerome an apple sits on a table.  This is the classic symbol of temptation.

The famous Bosch "The Garden of Earthly Delights" was packed with viewers, so it took me a while to get up close. I remember it well. Years ago it seemed like such a contrast to the rest of the museum paintings, especially since the themes are dedicated to religious Madonnas with child.

This is a religious painting too.

It is a triptisch with three panels and a different aspect on each. On the left is Paradise where everything is fine. God is there, looking like Jesus rather than an old man, and presenting eve to Adam. There are animals and trees and everything is without sin.

In the middle panel all sin breaks loose, especially lust. There are plenty of naked scenes, one it a pool like a hot tub. A couple are in a glass bubble which reflects an old saying

Here is a detail discussed.
https://theartstack.com/artist/hieronymus-bosch/love-couple-bubble-de

In the third panel people are punished in hell for their sin. Here a miser must shit coins, a pig like nun represents the church at its worst,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

I did see the famous Velazquez where the painter is in the painting.
Las Meninas
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/las-meninas/9fdc7800-9ade-48b0-ab8b-edee94ea877f

The various perspectives, room to room, fascinates me.  I have a bit of that from my bedroom looking out at the kitchen and dining area. 

I was fascinated by a still life in a collage style by Charles Joseph Flipart.
http://wikivisually.com/wiki/Charles_Joseph_Flipart
**************
The still life paintings of Luis Egidio Melendez attracted my attention.
One was of pigeons ready for plucking.
https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/bodegon-con-pichones-cesta-de-comida-y-cuencos/98cb8cbf-af84-4ac7-89e0-b2703aea20de

One was of a piece of salmon that was so realistic it made me hungry.
https://content3.cdnprado.net/imagenes/Documentos/imgsem/e9/e99e/e99ecaad-8a11-4614-932f-960df1f833e4/8e088bfd-d4eb-415a-a179-c31711514e6a.jpg

And how could I not enjoy the fish?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Luis_Egidio_Mel%C3%A9ndez_-_Still-Life_-_WGA14755.jpg

Here is a good source of his paintings.
Egidio Melendez
*****************************
There were of course many religious paintings, expecially of Mary and Jesus.  Here is one I liked.  I admire Joseph.  He was so kind and patient and caring in the story.


The Holy Family with Lamb

***********************************************************************

I enjoyed this portrait by Vicente Lopez of this musician.  Such a character.
FELIX MAXIMO

***********************************************************************

A variant of the famous sculpture Sleeping Ariadne is in the Prado and quite enticing.  The one usually noted is the one in the Vatican
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Ariadne

PLEASE NOTE

Unlike most blogs that run backwards in time, I have arranged this one to read in the order of the trip. Ignore the dates of the posting.  Actual dates were 11 days in late April and into May.
Remember after finishing each page,  to hit the link "Older posts" in the bottom right of your screen to move ahead.  All of the blog will not load at one time.
For the most part I have not tried to figure which places have copyrights for photos and which do not.  Rather than copying them, I've just linked to them whenever the photos there or the information added to what I was reporting. 
The rest of the photos are my own, taken for the most part with my little point and shoot camera.  There are a few sent from Frank as well.
If you use photos from the blog, please include a link to this  blog as your source.
Elizabeth reports having trouble going to links and not having to refind where she left off reading.  She has a MAC.  That may make a difference.  I can't help thinking, however, that it depends on some settings she has on her computer.  When I hit a link and then hit the back arrow, I go back to where I left off reading.

I like comments and encourage them here.  Remember that they are moderated, so it may take a while for you to see your comments posted.  I have to do that to avoid posting spam. 
Enjoy.

FRANK'S BOOK

Recently, my old friend Frank Vielba published a book in English on the life of his mother who lived from 1907 until 2010.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1537602357/?tag=allamerspea-20

Trinidad was born in Hervas, one of twelve, and lived a simple, hard working life. The story of her life reveals what it was like for such a person to be in Spain throughout some of the most turbulent years, including political and social revolution.

I had read the book in computer email version and wanted to buy a few copies, have Frank sign them, and distribute them as gifts. Meeting him in Spain seemed a fine opportunity to do that. He carried the books from near London (where he lives) to Madrid, and I carried them from Madrid to Albany, New York where I live.

Meeting in Madrid, we would be able to catch up on our lives since our last meet up, years ago.

It also seemed a great idea because at that time the book could not be purchased on Amazon in the US, but only in the UK, so most of the people I recommended read it, could not buy a copy.

Since then the distribution has increased to include the USA.

I was delighted to see the format of the published book. It was a large paperback and Frank had arranged it to be double spaced, so it was was comfortable even for my old eyes.

The only downside was that none of the books I bought from Frank allowed recipients to post a review on Amazon. To post a review, one must buy directly from Amazon. So there are many copies of the book being circulated that preclude reviews.

If anyone reading the blog buys a copy, even in Kindle version, please write a review of the book.

In addition to obtaining copies of the book, Frank took me on a tour of his mother's village, Hervas http://spaintravelswithpaco.blogspot.com/2017/05/hervas.html


and introduced me to those of his cousins who still live in this delightful village. He showed me where his mother had lived her younger years. It was good background for my second read of the book.
The book is especially interesting to readers who like to view history from the perspective of the common people who lived in the times.  Spain went through enormous changes during the life of Frank's mother, and how she and her family viewed them and faced them makes for fine reading. 

Perhaps in future years the book will also be printed in Spanish. 

FIRST DAY

I flew out Sunday at five thirty and landed in Madrid at about six thirty. It was still dark. I remember that when I flew in to Spain for the first time in 1969 that I could see a good bit of the country in the daylight, so I must have left later in the evening.

I lucked out on my seat when a boy wanted to switch with me so he could sit with his girlfriend. That moved me from the middle to the edge of the plane where there were only two seats in a row. No one took the other seats, so for the trip I had two seats for all my junk and as extra space to stretch out.

I was to request this aisle seat on my way back home.  It seems the best seat for me because it frees up the bathroom access.

I did not sleep well, but some.

I was tired but not exhausted when we landed, and I managed to find my way to get my baggage.

From the airport I took a cab, and it was good that I wrote down the address of the hostal as the cabby did not know them. It was thirty dollars as advertised. I had to wait a while to get in and get registered. 
The hostal was a very low budget place. 
There is not always someone on duty. In fact, there is rarely anyone on duty. 
Strange.

It is a very tiny room, but it will do.
For full review see this link

http://spaintravelswithpaco.blogspot.com/2017/05/room-review.html?zx=74c25d378eb796f1

Once in the hotel I took a walk around the Plaza Tirso de Molina and then took a great nap.

I used the day to shop for drinks. Wine is very inexpensive in the grocery by the bottle. I'm drinking a nice bottle of tempranillo that cost about two dollars.

I was glad I packed my tea cup because no cups are provided. The soap is a liquid for bathing and another shampoo. I brought a fine bar of soap that will last me the trip.

After a good nap, I walked to Plaza Mayor

and then to Puerta del Sol. 

I remember Puerta del Sol as much larger than it appeared in my visit.  It was the center of most of our travels in Madrid in those old days. 
The GPS on the phone could not seem to get me to Sol, and finally I asked someone.

While I wandered to the erratic directions of the phone, I got a good look at the streets and the shops and plenty of people, mostly tourists.

I almost went to a concert that I'm sure I would have enjoyed, but I was just too tired, and I was waiting for Frank to phone anyway.
After he called, I walked out again and circled Tirso de Molino. There were large groups of Black men with large bundles wrapped in blankets. Perhaps they were a soccer team. 
Also, there were a dozen or so young men with black shirts and "today" and "tomorrow" written on them with a drawing under "today" of a group of men and one under "tomorrow" with a bride and groom. I wondered what that was about. Frank supposed it was a bachelor party.

The rest of the plaza was either picked up and quiet or the outdoor seating for food venues. Mostly young people sat at them and talked.

Earlier there was loud drumming coming from somewhere, but later there was just mild street noises and the din of conversation. I did not find it hard to sleep with such noises. However, it is a great contrast to living on the lake where nights are very quiet.

GOYA'S REMAINS

Frank and I took Metros to the area where the Goya remains are honored by a chapel of angel and cherub like figures. 
Luckily it was open.

It took us a long time to find it.
We got bad directions and that increased our walking. We rode the bus at one point and there was a very pretty young girl with dark hair and small features. There was also sitting across from me a really old fellow in suit and tie. His suit was brown with large buttons I have not seen in a while. Interesting character.

A few days later, on Calle Mayor, I was to see the same guy in the same brown suit. I wish I had stopped and said something to him.

I was ready to give it up, but Frank kept pushing on. I was very dehydrated and thirsty,  and did not think the chapel would be open that late.

But we found it, and it was.

https://www.viator.com/Madrid-attractions/Hermitage-of-San-Antonio-de-la-Florida/d566-a9822

I enjoyed seeing the murals again.  There is some possibility that Maria's wedding occurred in this chapel although it is odd that no mention of the cherubs or Goya's remains were included in memories passed down to Frank about this event.  It was the event that first drew his mother to Madrid from Hervas.

  Here is an interesting blog report on this place along with fine photos

https://paradoresandpousadas.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/in-madrid-the-hermitage-of-san-antonio-de-la-florida-goyas-tomb/

Right across the street I drank a ton of agua mineral con gas and munched on chorizo cooked in cider as well as something else. This is the place with the special chicken that was on our list last visit. I have yet to eat any of the famous chicken.

ESCHER EXHIBIT

Breakfast at
http://spaintravelswithpaco.blogspot.com/2017/05/taverna-at-tirso-de-molina.html?zx=a3d722a5bb89ffa6
 

My eggs were cooked over easy and came with a meaty bacon that was more like ham, bread, orange juice and two expressos.  The cost was under 8 euros, which is under 10 dollars.

I shopped at the local grocery and bought some chorizo, water, and very cheap wine.

ESCHER

I had seen advertisement for this exhibit, but did not know exactly where it was.

Phone would not work to get me to Escher, but I asked directions a few times. It is in the Palace de Gavira which is itself something.

http://eschermadrid.com/english/the-palace/

There is a book of the exposition, but it is 25 euros.

One book of prints he had was called Emblenata

He worked with shapes, loved the look of nature, bugs and such. Love contrast of white and black which take in all the colors.

One set features the 16th century proverbs of Andrea Alicati in Latin and then some Dutch.

"ne miserein vada impactus pereas" was one that had a buoy looking like a fishing bobber on a claw anchor and a fish swimming by.

Another had a lyre standing in a corner.

He fell in love with Italy and did many landscapes capturing the shapes. A print of a small city he lived in sets nestled in a large mountainous barren rock. Scilla was the name. In one there are also boats.

He did a good bit of the Calabria area of Italy. He liked the Alambra because it was about shape. We may perhaps go there on our next trip to Spain.

He influenced album covers.

http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2013/02/07/mc-escher-album-covers/

One description of him was that he was a genius within a genius.

Many of the pieces blend shapes that then become other things. We have at home one of the fish and birds and there was another which was more in a figure eight than just rows. One circular print had black men with long menacing noses blend into white me who were of good posture.

One print was a heron in a cage.

As part of the Art Nouveu movement, he elevated crafts into arts having the same respect as painting.

I liked the crazy Tower of Babel but also the one of St Francis surrounded by birds in a garden. Very unique sense of person and bird.

He used the Droste effect

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect

The glass globe in this photograph
https://heleninspaincom.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/img_9300.jpg


allowed the visitors to place themselves in the place of Escher in his famous glass globe.  I could not get the photo that this woman managed.