This morning the school offered an expedition to the museum housed in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. There were only four of us with a guide. We took a bus to downtown to the rococo building that houses 1000 paintings and sculptures. The famous painter Goya painted in this building and it is full of his works. He was the court painter for the Spanish royals and for Napoleon. We learned a bit about the history of the royal families as we viewed all the portraits. Goya was known for his lack of diplomacy (i.e. realism) in his paintings of these people. We also got to see a special room with the plates carved by Goya for his “Disasters of War” series of lithographs. Then we were off to class.
After class and dinner, we strolled the Calle Fuencarral area. It is full of shops, restaurants with patios, movie theaters, and other people out enjoying themselves. Everyone seems to go out in the evenings to walk, talk, have a snack or a drink, and relax. We finally got to bed at 11:00.
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