Valencia, Spain - Museo de Belles Artes

Of to the bus stop again and this time there were more people there. Talking to each other we were approached by a man who said "You speak English?" and wanted to know how to get to the train station to get into Valencia. He and his family were from Slovakia. We started to explain about the lack of train and how to use the bus when another lady piped in, she was from Poland. Between us we clarified how he and the family could get to the Aquarium. It takes a village.

 

We got off at the Serrano Gate and walked just a short distance to the Museo del Bellas Artes.

 It is housed in: The Seminary College of Saint Pius V had been founded by the Archbishop of Valencia Fray Juan Tomás de Rocabertí (1627-1699), to house the Minor Regular Clerics, an order created by Pope Pius V to instruct the secular clergy in diocesan seminars.

Its traces, of baroque port, following pre-existing models in Valencia, had been commissioned to the Valencian architect Juan Bautista Pérez Castiel, beginning its construction in 1683. from https://museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es/va/el-edificio

I have to assume that the entrance is part of the old chapel, 3 stories high and domed. Here we learned that entrance was free but that we had to leave my backpack in a locker.

 

It was divided into eras and the first area we went into, the oldest in the collection

were altar pieces.

Huge,

detailed,

painted on wood, with intricate wood carving and lots of gold paint or gilt.

The signage was in Spanish, listing artists, subjects, dates, location and medium.

At this stage most of the subjects were religious. That's who would pay artists.

El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos) has a significant, though indirect, association with Valencia, primarily through the presence of his artworks in the city's religious and art institutions and, more recently, through major exhibitions. While El Greco lived and worked mainly in Toledo, Spain, several of his key, late-period works were commissioned for or ended up in Valencia

. from Wikipedia.

Having spent more time painting this winter than any previously, I found myself examining paintings carefully. Many of the religious paintings used a technique that looked as if they had used a punch, into the wood, behind the canvas, to give texture to the details.

 

There were also tapestries and sculptures.

Looking down at the gallery that held the altar pieces.

 Feeling hungry we left the museum and wandered into a very non-touristy area behind it.We stopped at a little restaurant that had some english in the menu outside. However the waitress spoke no English and I'm not sure the cook even knew what was on the menu outside. Rick had a hamburguesa normal (which we now assume means that it doesn't have a fried egg on it) and I had a sandwich vegetal which came with a fried egg on it and tuna (so much for vegetarian). For the record both were excellent and the cheapest meal we have had since we got here. Stopped at the bakery next door for dessert (also cheap).

Back to the Museo and we checked out some of the outside spaces.

 

The galleries focused on a specific style, era or artist.

I spent a long time at this one. It is quite large, taking up the whole height of the wall. I was intrigued by the artists choice to depict Jesus in the shade of the sail. It draws the eye to the light, which is the audience to the left and the background to the right. Then the eye moves to the foreground, left, figure. Then the flowers and figure in the foreground and then Jesus and the fishermen in the boat. On the other hand Jesus' cloak is the only red in the painting and the dark sail allows for a light halo around his head. On the practical side it makes sense that he would preach shaded from the sun. That's why I end up in art galleries for so long.

Back outside, bus home and a leisurely evening.

A painting of the wild, stormy days at the start of my visit here.

 

This morning, while sitting on the couch, drinking coffee I noticed something up on the wall. I could only see part and hoped fervently that it wasn't a spider as it was quite large. But it turned out to be a Moorish Gecko. With the help of a spatula and an envelope Rick moved him out to the balcony.

Today was a low activity day, while awaiting the arrival of Nic and Dave, and I painted Rick and I on the beach from a photo taken by Gord.

Valencia, Spain - Long day in the city, part 2

 

We would not normally stop at something that looks like this but after all the walking we decided, expense be damned, we just wanted to sit and have something to eat and drink.

It turned out to be lovely. We actually asked to be sat in the shade. A view of the beach

and the pool. We both ordered a drink, Rick had tuna tacos (not tuna from a can, this was raw tuna steak pieces) and I had a salad with asparagus, avocado and candied walnuts over lettuce. We ended up sharing both and it was worth the extra money.

We strolled along the sea front

Looking back at the Beach Club.

The tall ship was out for a spin. I have since learned that Spain is suffering under a sand/dust storm from Africa so that may be the cause of the haze.

We had realized at lunch that we couldn't make it back in time for the afternoon bus so could take our time

wandering in the beach area of Valencia.

We started to follow

Googles directions to the bus until

Rick realized that this route would require 3 bus transfers.

So we headed back to the bus route we had taken on the way down.

I was having fun finding the little, older houses that were squeezed in between

the ugly 1960s apartment blocks.

Back on the bus to the old section and then fortified with Gelato.

We had lots of time before the evening bus

so strolled around the old city

Artist Julia Lool: The artist Julia Lool is specifically known for filling the walls of Valencia, including El Carmen and Cabañal, with black cat stencils and paintings for many years. from AI summary.

 

Impressive looking building

awesome gargoyles.

The market was closed but Rick sat and had a beer while I painted a portion of it.

Walked towards the bus station on a different side of the Turia gardens

so the views were a little different.

Unfortunately the camera kept focusing on the branch rather than the parrot.

Rugby practice in the park.

We caught the 6:40 bus back to Canet and it was dark by the time we got home.