As soon as I reached Bilbao Airport I got on a bus heading to the city centre and even before having left the backpack at the hotel made my way to the Museo de las Bellas Artes, just a few metres away from the bus stop at Alameda Rekalde fairly close to the Guggenheim Museum, where I still managed to take a photo of the well known Jeff Koons' Puppy, a twelve metre-high floral dog, which naturally draws the attention of every passer-by.
I started photographing some note worth images on my way to the Museum, such as the Artklass building and the Plaza Euskadi gardens which I believed to be able to get back to later.
The Museo de las Bellas Artes looked small from the outside but the moment I walked in and started strolling along the galleries where the permanent collection was being exhibited I realised my initial impression was wrong, as the 1909 building had had a new wing added in 1970. I was almost immediately taken by the outstandingly beautiful religious paintings, some of which dating back to the 12th century.
Photos were not allowed, which was a bit of a pity really, because some of the cards available were not especially good as far as colour is concerned. Among the 8 thousand works pertaining to the permanent collection and covering several chronological periods from the 13th century to the present I have sellected a few I particularly liked, whose images I am including now, as I write.
The Majesty of Christ on the cross - Anonymous Catalan artist - late 12th century.
This figure of Christ is considered a clear exponent of Catalan Romanesque sculpture revealing the conceptual nature of Mediaeval Art. Derived from the Byzantine tradition the wide-open eyes and feet nailed separately. The majestic attitude of Christ and his face revealing no signs of suffering convey soverignty and magnificence. The upper area containing personified representations of the Sun and the Moon refer to the eclipse that took place upon Jesus's death. Virgin Mary is seen standing on the right and Saint John on the left. The lower part represents Adam emerging from the sepulchre as a symbol of man's redemption. These figures are said to represent a step forward to naturalism and the annoucement of Gothic.
The Virgin with the child Jesus by Francisco Zurbaran - 1662 - oil on canvas (left). Saint Sebastian tended by holy women by José de Ribera - 1621 - oil on canvas (right).
The first reveals the evolution of Zurbaran's style and is considered one of his most important works. Painted two years before his death it depicts the Virgin with the child Jesus and the child Saint John Baptist.
José de Ribera's painting taking advantage of the dramatic use of light and shadow depicts the Saint lying naked on the ground with one arm still suspended from the tree of martyrdom with irene and Lucilla tending him, one removing the arrows and the other one holding the jar of ointment.
Kissing the relic by Joaquín Sorolla - 1893 - oil on canvas (left). The Annunciation by El Greco - 1596 - oil on canvas (right).
Based on the predominance of flat distance this genre of paintings earned Sorolla's international acclaim. This act of veneration marks the end of the mass and the opportunity taken by an altar boy to sell religious pictures.
Painted in what is considered as a representation of El Greco's late work the Annunciation is in an extraordinary free flowing manner using a splendid colour range.
The Rape of Europa by Martin de Vos - 1590 - oil on oak canvas (left). Lot and his daughters by Orazio Gentileshi - 1628 - oil on canvas (right).
Martin de Vos's painting related to Ovid and his Metamorphoses depictsthe God Jupiter, who in love with Europa, the daughter of the Phonician King Agenor turned himself into a bull, so as to abduct her and take her to Crete, where he made her his.
Related to the Biblical passage in which Lot having learnt of the destruction of Sodom flew with his family to later be intoxicated and seduced by his own dauthers.
Woman sitting with a child in her arms by Mary Cassat - 1890 - oil on canvas (left). Portrait of the Countess Mathieu de Noailles by Ignazio Zuloaga - 1913 - oil on canvas (right).
A common theme in Cassat's oeuvre this painting can be seen as a modern secular version of the traditional representation of the Virgin Mary and the child transformed into everyday domestic scenes.
Depicting Anna Elizabeth de Brancovan, a Parisian poetess of Greek and Romanian origin the painting's lower right corner image evokes the Countess' devotion to Literature, passion and love in the form of the books, the neckless of pearls and the vase full of roses.
Portrait of Martin Zapater by Francisco de Goya - 1797 - oil on canvas
Quite different from the paintings we are used from Goya the painter has captured his friend's expressiveness in this portrait.
I still visited two temporary exhibitions, one by Mikel Diaz Alaba and the other by Markus Lúpertz, though none of them impressed me as much the permanent collection's artistic pieces and the invited painting by Lucas Cranach, the elder - The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist.
As I walked out of the Museum I decided it was time to get rid of the back pack, check in at the pension I had booked for the two days and then make my way to another part of the city without the additional "burden".
The Neo-Classic Church of San José de la Montaña (1908-1918) built by the order of the Augustin and the Casa de Ramón de la Sota (1919).
Following the guide map instructions I walked along Gregori de la Revilla until I reached Indautxu Square, which I was impressed with.
A little further along the Autonomia Street I turned right into Carmelo Gil, where my rather cheap pension was located, one that definitely impressed me taking into account the cleanness and the services provided.
(to be continued)
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