Goya’s Dome – La Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida

La Ermita de San Antonio

One of the true joys of living in Europe is the opportunity to see some of the world’s greatest works of art in their original settings.  Whether it’s the Sistine Chapel, a Bernini sculpture, or an El Greco tucked away in a small Toledo chapel, these works are simply mesmerizing when seen as the artist originally intended.  Although Madrid has a cache of amazing artwork, most of it is displayed in a museum setting.  This is largely due to the fact that in comparison to other European cities, Madrid is still rather young.  One exception to this rule that I decided to seek out this past week is the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida.  This tiny hermitage is the home to Francisco Goya’s image of the Miracle of St. Anthony of Padua.

Francisco Goya is regarded by most historians as the last of the old Masters.  He was born in the small town of Fuendetodos, Spain in 1746.  Unlike many of the world’s greatest painters, Goya was largely unknown into his 30’s.  At that time he began to work with the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid where he produced cartoons that were woven into tapestries for famous sights like El Escorial and the Royal Palace of El Pardo.  His success with the Royal Tapestry factory and with a series of prints called “Los Caprichos” brought him the notoriety that led to his appointment as the first court painter in 1799. 

Goya’s work at the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida was commissioned and begun in 1798, after he became a court painter, but before he was named the first court painter.  The dome and frescoes he painted took the artist about six months to complete.  Goya’s work on the structure would have taken place just after the church was completed.  The Ermita was designed and built by Felipe Fontana from 1792 to 1798.  In those days the hermitage was located well outside of the city on the other side of the Manzanares River.  Today the church is located in a residential neighborhood, very near to the Principe Pio train station that is one of Madrid’s largest.

Goya's Dome depicting Saint Anthony's Miracle

The work that Goya was commissioned to do in the church was a representation of a miracle of St. Anthony of Padua.  The story behind Goya’s image is that St. Anthony’s father was accused of murder in the Saint’s home country of Portugal.  Miraculously, St. Anthony “flew” from Padua to Lisbon where he asked that the corpse of the murdered man be brought forward.  Once the man’s body was present, St. Anthony raised him from the dead so that he could give testimony that would absolve his father of the crime.  Immediately after clearing his father’s name, the dead man slunk back into his grave.  Goya’s dome is painted to reflect the moment when the murdered man came forward and gave his testimony.

Although Goya’s work on the dome of St. Anthony’s is a masterpiece, it is also fairly unconventional.  For starters, he relocated the miracle from 13^th century Lisbon, to contemporary Madrid.  Goya also painted the church in a manner that many would consider upside down.  Traditionally, an image like the Miracle of St. Anthony would be painted with the earth below and the angels above.  In Goya’s image, the trial takes place in the dome while the angels flutter about on the ceiling below.

Interior of Ermita de San Antonio showing the angels painted below the dome.

In addition to Goya’s masterpiece, the church is also now that final resting place of the great artist.  In 1928 Goya’s remains were buried under the altar of the church.  This of course was 100 years AFTER the artist’s death.  Goya was originally buried in Bordeaux, France, where he had been living at the time of his death in 1828.  In 1901, the Spanish government deemed it inappropriate that one of their greatest artists should be buried in foreign soil.  The body was exhumed and moved to Madrid.  Nothing is written of where his remains were kept between 1901 and 1928.  Also in 1928, an identical chapel was built right next door to Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida.  This allowed Goya’s final resting place and dome to be used exclusively as a museum. 

One interesting note is that when Goya was reburied in the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida, his skull was missing.  It has never been found.

Photo showing the two identical chapels.  The one in the foreground contains Goya's final resting place.

Art and Potatoes

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

            One of the greatest attributes of the city of Madrid and of Spain in general, is its deep love of the arts.  Located within the city in a fairly small area are three of the best art museums in all of Europe.  Of course, the shining star of these three is the Prado which is regarded as one of the three greatest art museums in the world.  Although the Prado may get the most attention, the other two are no slouches.  The Reina Sofia is a top notch modern art museum.  Although a little avant-garde for my tastes, it is a wonderful repository of works by twentieth century artists like Picasso, Dalí, and Georges Braque. It is also home to one of the greatest Spanish paintings of all time, La Guernica.  La Guernica represents Picasso’s twisted view of the Spanish Civil War.

            The third museum in this holy trinity of art is the relatively new Thyssen-Bornemisza.  The Thyssen was formed in the early 1990’s to display one of the greatest private collections of art in the world.  Over the course of two generations, the Thyssen-Bornemisza family has collected art.  In many cases they were responsible for bringing master works back to Europe that had been relocated to the United States at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century.  Using the Great Depression in the United States, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon was able to raid the collections of many an American millionaire, amassing the second largest private collection in the world. The only larger collection of privately held art was owned by the British Royal family. 

            After the death of the first Baron Thyssen Bornemisza his son, also known as Baron Thyssen Bornmisza, continued to collect art and to add to the collection.  In 1981 the younger Baron married Carmen Cervera, a former Miss Spain.  Although her husband passed away in 2002, Carmen Bornemisza continues to support the museum and add to the collection.  Recently an addition was added on to the original museum in order to house over 200 paintings from Carmen Thyssen’s personal collection.  She started collecting in the mid 1980’s under the guidance of her husband. 

            To me the Thyssen-Bornemisza is the art museum to visit in Madrid if you are short on time or can only get to one of the three.  Although the Prado has the most impressive collection, it sheer immensity makes it difficult to see in one day.  In many cases the Prado holds quite a few works by each artist while the Thyssen usually has only one or two. With the Thyssen-Bornemisza, it’s kind of like ordering the captain’s platter at Red Lobster.  You don’t get a lot of any one thing, but each tasty fried morsel brings something to the meal. To put it best, it’s an art museum for people who aren’t quite sure what type of art they like.  Every room brings a new artist, a different style, or a different type of work.

            Entering the Thyssen, you begin at the reception counter where they collect your admission and have information, maps etc…   Like any larger museum in the city, maps are available in multiple languages.  Admission to the Thyssen for an adult is 8 euro, which includes the entire permanent collection and the new wing with the collection of Carmen Thyssen.  In addition they do run special exhibits which can cost more.  When I visited, they were running a special exhibition called Heroinas.  More on this later.

            Because it would be impossible to tell you about all the works in the Thyssen, I’ve decided to choose three of my favorites to share with you in this format.  The first of these is by Hans Holbein the younger.  Born in 1497 in Augsburg, Holbein is known as one of the greatest portrait artists of the 16^th century.  In 1526 he went to England, at the recommendation of Erasmus, where he was quickly brought into the humanist movement.  It was in England where he earned his great reputation.  Beginning in 1535, he became the officially portrait artist of the king.  It was in this capacity that he produced the work below.

Hans Holbein the younger Portrait of Henry VIII of England, 1534-1536

            The second picture that I saw that really stuck out to me was by the Dutch Master, Rembrandt.  Born in 1606 Rembrandt achieved early success as a portrait artist.  Throughout his life as an artist, one of Rembrandt’s favorite projects was the self portrait.  Between 1652 and 1699 alone he painted fifteen different self portraits.  The self portrait on display at the Thyssen comes prior to this period, but is no less impressive.

Rembrandt Self-Portrait, 1643

            The final painting I’d like to mention is by the artist, Thomas Gainsborough.  Gainsborough is not as well known as the other two.  Personally I had never heard of him until I read a book penned by an art dealer with a love of Gainsborough’s work.  After seeing the painting below, in person, I can understand his appreciation.  Some paintings have a way of conveying the emotions of their subjects.  You feel the pain, the happiness, the frustration.  These are the images that stand out as you enter a room.  No matter what company they are displayed alongside, they stick out.  Gainsborough’s Portrait of Sarah Buxton is one of these images.

Thomas Gainsborough Portrait of Sarah Buxton, 1776-1777

            My only complaint about the Thyssen is a personal one.  Their lone image by my favorite artist, the Italian Master, Caravaggio was being shown as part of the Heroinas special exhibit, meaning I’ll have to wait until my next visit to lay eyes upon it.  I guess this will teach me in the future to splurge on the extra admission for the special exhibit.

            After finishing my visit with modern artists like Georgia O’Keefe and Thomas Hopper I decided to head out for a considerably less sophisticated lunch at local chain restaurant, Patatas Bravas.  As you might of guessed, Patatas Bravas specializes in potatoes, not just any potatoes though.  They specialize in perfectly fried potato chunks served with a spicy red brava sauce.  Their sauce has become so popular in Madrid that they have actually begun bottling it for sale. They do for potatoes what BW3 and Quaker Steak and Lube do for chicken wings in the United States.  The branch of Patatas Bravas I went to was located just off Puerta del Sol, a ten minute walk from the Thyssen Bornemizsa, and an excellent spot to hop onto the metro for the ride home. 

Patatas Bravas