http://museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es/
Telephone: 963 87 03 00
Many things surprise me everyday about living here in Valencia, and in Europe in general. One of the major differences that surprised me was how relatively close the arts can be to where we live (starting with the Torres de Serrano right outside our door). Just an ear shot and a glance across the riverbed is the glistening blue dome of the Museum of Fine Arts. It is defined not only by its blue semi-sphere, but also by the two castle-like towers on either side. The entrance to the museum consists of high columns, with a gated window and a cross at the top, commemorating the museum's religious past. Upon immediate entry, a circular room adorns larger than life paintings and artifacts along the walls and a statue in the center. Above the statue is the dome, colored in a deeply saturated blue with dotted yellow stars held up by eight different columns. Below the dome are windows that show the museum's art library, the perfect resource for art students and critics alike.
Now, entering the museum itself, the first floor displays a large collection of religious statues and paintings. From varied scenes of the Last Supper to strange depictions of the terrors that await sinners in hell, the first floor of the museum shows the diversity of important religious paintings.
While these paintings beautifully elicit important religious scenes, I would say that I spend the most time in the Sorolla exhibit. Sorolla, a native Valencian, painted pastoral scenes of the beach, family members, and of human emotion. Personally, I enjoy Sorolla's vivid colors and depictions of the beach, as well as his interpretations of the human emotion in the first room of his exhibit.
The second floor still holds various paintings of religious background, however there is more on the transition to secular topics during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. The second floor features artists like Francisco de Goya, Vicente Lopez, and Muñoz Degraín. Paintings feature the different aspects of daily life. Patron saints are shown showing mercy to sinful and musicians are shown playing in front of Greek structures. Clearly, there is a great diversity when it comes to the themes and subjects shown here in the Museum of Fine Arts.
This museum was not always a house of such beautiful pieces of art. It was first build in 1683 on the order the archbishop John Thomas de Rocaberti as a residency for missionaries and a school for Junior clerks under the name St. Pius V. The structure has also been a nunnery (maybe the one that Hamlet referred Ophelia to), a school for arts, and, perhaps most interestingly, a storage facility during the Civil War. It was dismantled and used as a means to store artistic master pieces that had to be preserved.
Today, el Museo de Belles Artes still preserves pieces of fine and presents them to the public. Anyone wondering the streets can walk in to see the exhibits because the entry is free. This provides a free tool and countless educational opportunities for many university art students to come and study. It represents the prominent art scene in Valencia and the history of art in the city. Considering the museums long history and what it provides to others, I think it is an important facet of Valencian culture. It is open to the public, the paintings tell a story of Valencian art, the exhibits are fascinating. I rather enjoyed this museum a lot. I particularly enjoy its homage to Sorolla, who was a native of Valencia. Certainly a must see when in Valencia if one is interested in Classic arts.
~Christian "Macho" Camacho
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| One of the large scale paintings in the immediate entrance. (Featuring Dr. No) |
While these paintings beautifully elicit important religious scenes, I would say that I spend the most time in the Sorolla exhibit. Sorolla, a native Valencian, painted pastoral scenes of the beach, family members, and of human emotion. Personally, I enjoy Sorolla's vivid colors and depictions of the beach, as well as his interpretations of the human emotion in the first room of his exhibit.
This museum was not always a house of such beautiful pieces of art. It was first build in 1683 on the order the archbishop John Thomas de Rocaberti as a residency for missionaries and a school for Junior clerks under the name St. Pius V. The structure has also been a nunnery (maybe the one that Hamlet referred Ophelia to), a school for arts, and, perhaps most interestingly, a storage facility during the Civil War. It was dismantled and used as a means to store artistic master pieces that had to be preserved.
Today, el Museo de Belles Artes still preserves pieces of fine and presents them to the public. Anyone wondering the streets can walk in to see the exhibits because the entry is free. This provides a free tool and countless educational opportunities for many university art students to come and study. It represents the prominent art scene in Valencia and the history of art in the city. Considering the museums long history and what it provides to others, I think it is an important facet of Valencian culture. It is open to the public, the paintings tell a story of Valencian art, the exhibits are fascinating. I rather enjoyed this museum a lot. I particularly enjoy its homage to Sorolla, who was a native of Valencia. Certainly a must see when in Valencia if one is interested in Classic arts.
~Christian "Macho" Camacho
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