Puzzling in Spain

This past week we have been on a tour of Spain.  We decided that we would do a Miguel Berrocal tour for the rest of our holiday before heading back to the States via cruise ship.  I got my first Berrocal in 2011 and haven't looked back since.  I wrote then that I wanted only 3 or maybe 4....As of today, we are the rather pleased owners of 76 pieces with more to come I'm sure.

We started out in Barcelona enjoying the sights and found our first puzzle. No, this one isn't a Berrocal, or twisty, or even wood.  It's a jigsaw!  I know, I know.  What right-minded metagrobologist (can I call myself that?) would be caught dead with a jigsaw?  This one is different.  Honest.  First, it's big.  Really big! 42,000 pieces.  And it's not one for the house. We have decided that it will live in the garage. It will be perfect to look at on our way out to trips and as a reminder of where we have been when we return home.

Torso Vectra

 From Barcelona we traveled to Zaragoza to see our first large Berrocal.  In San Bruno square we saw Torso Vectra.  This piece was commissioned in 1996 by Opel car company and was later moved from the factory building to the square.  I had to see this piece as we own a small copy of it which can be seen when you enter our home. While very happy to be able to see this piece, I was saddened by the condition.  The piece itself is in excellent condition, it's the pedestal that needs work.  Vandals have written all over it with paint.  Such a shame.  But thankfully, they left the art alone.  Our version of Torso Vectra is only around 4 inches tall, and has 2 parts.  There were only 1000 made, and we have number 9446.

Manolona

Almudena

From here we went next to Madrid.  This city had two sculptures we wanted to see, Manolona and Almudena.  We succeeded in both cases and were not displeased.  Manolona is one of my favorite pieces.  George and I acquired it through an auction last summer and were shocked to discover the piece we own is the artist proof of the larger version seen here in Juan Carlos 1 Park.  This sculpture is just to the right of the main entrance and very easy to spot.  I shrieked with joy when I saw it and went running.  The piece as you see it is resting on a bed of greenery that we later learned was not how Berrocal intended it to be displayed.  But it's lovely just the same.  The beauty of this piece is that you can go under it and get a totally different perspective.  It is well worth the visit.  From there we went to the Funducion Juan March to see the Almudena.  This one is easily seen from the street, but to gain access to it, you must enter the building and then go out onto an open patio. We were glad we arrived during business hours so we could take our photo and head south to Toledo for a few days of sightseeing.

Our next Berrocal stop was in Sevilla.  We went to the sight of the 1992 Worlds fair to see Doña Elvira.  Sadly, the statue is behind a gate and has been permanently closed to the public.  It is such a waste of a beautiful piece.  George and I took a taxi there, jumped out, snapped a few photos of it and returned to the station to return to Cordoba for the night.  I really wanted to get close to it, but didn't want to risk being arrested.  When it was originally put into place it had a beautiful water feature around it. It's a shame that Seville didn't take better care of it.  Another piece, Torso de Luces has all but been destroyed. It is not a city that takes care of it's public art.

Today we had the great pleasure of traveling to the Berrocal Foundation in Villanueva de Algaidas.  This is something I have looked forward to for a very long time.  But more on that in another post.