Many museums in Madrid open in the evening, several days each week. Last evening, we went to the Prado and we went to Museo Reina Sofia this evening. The Prado is full of art collected by Spanish monarchs, and mostly dates to the 16th and 17th centuries. The largest holdings are of Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Velazquez, and Goya, and many are of religious subjects. The Reina Sofia’s art collection is primarily of modern and contemporary pieces, with large holdings by Picasso, Miro, Dali, Fontana, and others.
We enjoyed the experiences in both museums, but we particularly were grateful to see Picasso’s Guernica, in the Museo Reina Sofia. It is regarded by many as the most powerful anti-war painting in history, portraying the suffering wrought by violence and chaos. Picasso painted Guernica in 1937, in response to the bombing of the town of Guernica in northern Spain, by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It is the most famous painting in Museo Reina Sofia.
