Tuesday April 23, 2019

Immaculate Conception by Murillo

We start out today with a walk to the Museum of Fine Arts. This small museum celebrates some lesser known Spanish artists such as Murillo and Zurbaran. Theses painters along with Valasquez made Sevilla their home in its golden age of the 1600’s. They tried to make the spiritual world more earthly by painting saints and monks with wrinkles, balding heads, and realistic hands.

Fine Arts Courtyard

In the 1800’s, Spain tried to take some power from the Church and began disbanding and looting churches, monasteries, and convents. This art was rescued and hung safely here in the former Andalusian convent, now turned art museum. We notice right away that the building itself is beautiful with many hidden garden courtyards. A room that was the former chapel holds many fine Murillo (1617-1682) paintings. His signature Immaculate conception, two others which we saw in the Prado, is here. His tiny Madonna and Child shows the warmth which gave his work appeal.

San Hugo and Refectory by Zurburan

On the second floor is a room dedicated to Francisco de Zurburan (1598-1664). He meticulously and in detail painted saints and monks with the things they experienced in a realistic style. His San Hugo and the Refectory depicts Carthusian monks gathering for a simple meal. He created many paintings like this which hung in monks dining halls like in the painting. His audience lived in devout isolation devoting time to meditating, prayer, and religious study. As we wander the rest of the museum, Carol points out another beautiful ceiling.

Joe Torre

We see many other artists works and find that the Spanish must revere Joe Torre in one painting. It was painted in his pre Yankees manager period. We enjoyed this museum. Sometimes the smaller museums help you slow down and appreciate the art rather than be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of masterpieces. We exit the museum and head for the cathedral. Along the way we some Spanish tile wall art advertising the Studebaker automobile.

Cathedral High Altar

We arrive at the cathedral and are glad we bought our ticket at the other church yesterday. The line has hundreds of people in it and we walk to the front, show the guard our ticket and are in. The Sevilla Cathedral matches the Toledo Cathedral in size. I believe it is the third largest cathedral in total area in the world. We head over to the High Altar and the choir first as these tend to get very congested once the crowds get one. It says it is the Largest altarpiece ever made, 65 feet tall, with 44 scenes from the life of Jesus and Mary carved from walnut and chestnut then blanketed by gold leaf. It took from 1481 to 1564 to complete. A light show of sorts illuminates some of the important sections, than lights in a sign of the cross, and then the whole thing. It is mighty impressive. In one section of the transept, there is a silver altarpiece. Sevillas celebration of La Macarena culminated here and a statue of the virgin placed among all the silver. As we wonder around, we see several beautiful stained glass windows, some with the dates they were made on them. We find the tomb of Christopher Columbus’s second son who apparently donated 6,000 books in order to be placed here.

Christopher Columbus Tomb

We also discover something we did not know, that this cathedral also contains the tomb of Christopher Columbus. His tomb is carried by the statues of four pallbearer kings representing the regions of Castile, Aragon, Leon, and Navarre. His remains moved from Valladolid, Spain to Sevilla to the Dominican Republic, than Cuba, and finally back here. Questioning the authenticity, DNA testing has confirmed that he lies within the tomb.

Corona of Virgen of the Kings

In the treasury room, we see many relics and religious artifacts. One of the most beautiful and maybe most expensive is the Corona of the Virgin of the Kings. It is exquisite. A smaller jeweled crown in the same case pales in comparison. The Chapter House here contains the first elliptical dome built during the Spanish Renaissance.

You Can Ring My Bell

We now get in line to climb the bell tower,something we did not know was included. They usually charge extra for the towers, but for free, we have to climb it. It contains 34 ramps without steps and then 17 steps to the top. The Ramps were made during Moorish times so the person who calls to prayer could ride a horse up to near the top. We get some nice views of the city and then follow the herd back down. This completes our cathedral visit. We both agree that the Cathedral in Toledo was more ornate and beautiful than Sevillas, so if you had to choose, that’s where we would go.

Spinach with Five Cheeses

Now on to more earthly delights, like where to eat.We end up a short walk away at Bodega Santa Cruz. It is a tapas bar with very few tables so we squeeze in to the bar and order a few tapas with two beers, called canas, not cervezas, and to which the bartender corrects my pronunciation and says don’t let it happen again. We start with a spinach with five cheese dip which is incredible.

Whole Fried Anchovies. (Boquerones Fritos)

They are out of the eggplant with honey so we get adventurous and order our first boquerones (small whole fried anchovies) and a pringa (a small burger looking sandwich that they press like a panini. We saw someone else eat it so asked them what it was in Espanol of course. The boquerones are surprisingly good, bones and all, washed down with beer. The pringa is like a chorizo, shredded beef texture, but is really good also. I skirt around the beer pronunciation by saying dos mas, and order some calamari with them. They write the total on the bar and change it as you order more. This was a great stop, lots of local color, and fairly cheap for the nice quality of food.

Plaza de Espana

Our bellies full and the weather having improved from rain showers, we walk over to the Plaza de Espana, a large park area and stroll, relax, people watch, see a free street flamenco show, and then slowly meander back to our place. We scope out the Royal Alcazar, tomorrow’s visit, to find the entrance and proper line to go in. Time to siesta until dinner.

Croquets

We chose to go to Eslava, known for creative tapas and only two blocks from our apartment. The apartment location, away from the hustle of the tourist area has been ideal for great dining choices. We arrive at 0700 and it is already full so our name goes on a waiting list. We order two wines while we wait and have the free olive and beans tapa with the wine. It is only about 20 minutes before we are seated. We order croquets and a sirloin pork in Roquefort sauce to start. The croquets are pretty good but the pork is incredible, especially to blue cheese lover, Carol.

Playing with my Food

The meal is nicely paced, allowing us to savor and enjoy. Next up, artichoke with garlic and oil and honey roasted ribs. Once again the pork steals the show. Out of wine I order a Cana beer and the next two entries which may be hard to describe. They won taste contests in two different years. The first is a cigar, made with a crispy outside, cuttlefish and algae.

Egg on Mushroom Cake

The other is a slow cooked egg, on a mushroom cake (looks like a mushroom), with Pedro Ximenez sauce. Each one is indescribably delicious. We really weren’t sure on the egg one but it was excellent. Our enjoyable meal ends with these two winners and we head home for the evening. We do a little extra walking to digest and see another nearby area before calling it a night. On to tomorrow, where another Royal visit awaits.

Expenses
Apartment San Lorenzo 77.17E
Museum of Fine Arts 3E
Lunch Tapas at Bodega Santa Cruz 15E
Donuts and Coke from supermarket 1.79E
Dinner Tapas at Eslava 25.70E
Walked 6 Miles