Toby and Allan Explore Spain 2015: Visit to Reina Sofia

After all that good weather in the south of Spain, we were bound to hit a cold patch. Thursday March 19 was a cloudy day, with a high of about 12C. It rained the night before and the morning of the 19th, but by the time we left the apartment it was dry. We decided to have lunch out before visiting the Museo Reina Sofia. We passed a lovely street, Calle del Almendro, with a lovely picture of a tree.

We weren't sure who this was, but he was in the middle of the sidewalk

We decided to have lunch at La Casa Del Abuelo (Grandfather's Place). It was in the Guardian's Top 10 Tapas Bars in Madrid. The restaurant opened in 1906. We don't think this place is related to La Abuela where we ate on Wednesday, although one never knows. It was pretty packed by 1:30 p.m., just after we got there.

Grandfather's Place- 1906

Everyone eats standing up- very neat tables

La Casa Del Abuelo specializes in shrimp dishes. Alano and I shared a dish of gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimps). They were awesome- delivered sizzling hot. After we paid, our waiter gave us two tickets for glasses of wine at their second location. He walked us around the corner. We had two free glasses of wine and a piece of tortilla (Spanish omelette with potatoes). Lots of fun.

The menu

See the sizzle- our garlic shrimps-- excellent

We carried on walking and passed a monument dedicated to the workers who worked on Atocha street.

Plaque and sculpture A Los Abogados de Atocha

We finally got to our destination- the Museo Reina Sofia, which has Spain's most significant collection of 20th and 21st century art. The main museum building is a very large neoclassical 18th century former General Hospital, designed by Francisco Sabatini. The addition is a post-modern building designed by Jean Nouvel that opened in 2002. While we had visited the museum in 1998, the curators have reorganized the collection into intriguing themes including: The Irruption of the 20th Century: Utopias and Conflicts (1900-1945) and Is the War Over? Art in a Divided World (1945-68).

Main Sabatini building of the Reina Sofia

Admission to both the permanent and temporary exhibits was free for Alano as he is over 65. I had to pay just eight euros for admission. Very reasonable. We started by checking out one of the temporary exhibits entitled White Fire: the Modern Collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel. The Kunstmuseum Basel is considered the first municipal public art museum. It is expanding and that is why a selection of 100 20th century masterpieces is being exhibited at the Reina Sofia.

There were some great pieces- but it was a bit like a "greatest hits" exhibit, without a specific focus. Given the Reina Sofia's extensive and superior collection of 20th century art, it seemed a bit bizarre to bring the collection from the Kunstmuseum to this museum. We could take photos, so I have included some of the pieces we enjoyed by some of our favourite artists.

Georges Braque- La Musicienne 1917-18

Paul Klee- Senecio (Soon to be Aged) 1922

Alberto Giacometti, Le Chat 1951

Fernand Leger- Les deux figures (Nus sur fond rouge) 1923

Piet Mondrian- Composition No. 1 with Red and Black 1929

Gerhard Richter- Motorboat 1965

After the temporary exhibit, we went to check out some of the permanent collection and, of course, visit Picasso's 1937 Guernica painting. Picasso painted Guernica for the Spanish Pavillion in the 1937 World's Fair held in Paris. Due to Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War, Picasso loaned Guernica to the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1939, stipulating that it should only be given to Spain once democracy had returned to that country. It remained at MOMA for 42 years. Guernica was sent to Spain in 1981, first hanging at the Prado museum before moving to Museo Reina Sofia in 1992.

Guernica- 1937 (picture from Internet, as we couldn't take photos)

Picasso- Weeping Woman's Head with Handkerchief (III)- Postscript for Guernica 1937

There were so many great pieces in the permanent collection. We only saw a part of the collection, due to "museum fatigue". Photos were only allowed in a few rooms.

Man Ray- Indestructible Object 1923-33 ( replica from 1982) with photo of Lee Miller's Eye

Salvador Dali- Portrait of Luis Brunel 1924

Andre Kertesz- Chez Mondrian 1926

The outside courtyard also included a number of sculptures.

Huge Calder sculpture that moved in the wind

Joan Miro- 1966

We walked over to the nearby Botanical Gardens before heading back to the apartment.

Very large Botanical gardens near the Prado and Reina Sofia museums

Of course, we stopped at Mercado de San Miguel to buy some cheese and have a glass of draft vermouth (vermut in Spanish). The place was buzzing with lots of folks eating tapas and drinking.

Early tapas scene at Mercado de San Miguel (about 6:00 p.m.)

At about 9:00 p.m. we decided to go for a few tapas on a "tapas street" nearby. We had a glass of wine and a bacalao (cod) with tomato tapa and a portobello mushroom tapa. Taberna Tempranilla was another tapas bar listed in the Guardian's top 10 tapas bars in Madrid.