Final post on visit to the Berrocal Foundation

After a short break due to our return home and the thanksgiving holiday, I return with my final thoughts on our trip to the Berrocal foundation. 

I pick up where I left off.  On Sunday, we returned to the Berrocal Foundation around noon and met up with both Beltran and Carlos. Once again, we were greeted warmly by both brothers.  On this day, I spent a bit of time wandering around asking questions of Carlos on individual pieces that caught my eye. I was particularly enamored by Torse Du General II,Opus 90; and Alfa E Romeo, Opus 104.  The first being a puzzle with an interchangeable locking mechanism and the second a rather macabre sculpture with a removable hand which has a knife running through it.  If anyone knows of a place to find Alfa E Romeo in the boxed (book) form, do let me know.  It is now on my hunt list.  

I was intrigued by the paintings hanging from the walls and from a number of rather brightly colored sculptures that were around the outside of the room. These came from an opera set that Berrocal had done.  The props were all to be burned and he went in and rescued them before they were destroyed.  

I was shown a book of art done to experiment with the various ways to show how a piece was done.  I was shown copies of Sevilla and Madrid which were a real shock because I had just purchased these two pieces but was unaware of the size.  They are much larger than I expected.  

While Carlos entertained me, Beltran and George talked about different man things relating to the tools in the workshop and CAD.  After an hour or so, we settled on chairs around the large Adriano and began discussing a melamine copy of David that Beltran pulled out.  It seems that there was, at one time a thought, of making the minis in that material, but the technology was such that the mold lines could be seen.  I was honored to be able to see and feel this piece.  George took it apart with great difficulty.  I think it was his first time at disassembling one of these works.  

Carlos brought out a few pieces I wanted to see for possible purchase, and a few more that I had not requested.  In the end, I own two having purchased them on this trip, and bought another artists proof.  This time it was the dove made for the ’92 Olympics.  We had a rather lengthy discussion about the provenance of a piece given the most recent of these sold on auction went for an insane price simply because it was owned by Robin Williams.  After another hour or so of conversation we all went over to the house for lunch.  When we arrived, our first sight was art. Art everywhere.  This place put many museums to shame.  We saw Miro, Dali, Warhol, and Picasso to name a few, all upon entering the main room.  We were given a brief tour by Beltran while we waited for Carlos to return with the missing ring for my Paloma belt.  

Beltran made us a wonderful lunch of couscous that I may try to copy when we return home.  He was very generous and gave me his recipe.  As I was sitting down, I looked over his head and found a Franco Rocco.  Without asking I very rudely picked it up and started to play.  When I explained to my lover what I was holding, I soon lost it to him. Needless to say, neither of us got far into it.  

I was shown the drawer upon drawer of Posateria Veronese pieces they use for special dinners and was asked if I would like to use them.  I smiled politely and shook my head no.  Beltran was rather excited to show me the Coffinetta, but Carlos cut him off with a "she’s got 3".  We had a nice little chuckle about how much I could have saved had I bought two more sets of Posateria Veronese.  We were told this set still sells and is a favorite gift for weddings.  I can understand why.  It is beautiful and I know our puzzling friends have enjoyed using it.  

We were shown many more interesting pieces in the house and I again found one or two I would like to add to our

collection.  My favorite being the balls from Romeo and Juliet encased in plastic. THe other is that Benjamin tapas plates and ice bucket set.  Beltran’s wife Claudia arrived and we spent a bit of time talking with her.  By now it was late afternoon and we had been with the brothers for around 6 hours.  George and I expressed our great appreciation for them giving such a large part of their weekend to us and said our goodbyes.  

Before we left Beltran made sure we used the loo.  He liked the hidden door.  We liked the artwork and of course I had to take a few stallies for my uncle.  I was curious about the record player and was told it did indeed work.  As we were saying our goodbyes and taking a group selfie, Beltran hit upon a bust of the Spanish king.  He explained that it was cut at the top because the queen came out of the kings head, and the prince came out of the queens head.  The piece used the same mechanism as the hood ornament of David on the car.  

Throughout this journey, I gained greater respect for Berrocal not only as a puzzle builder, but as an inventor and an artist.  I feel very privileged to have been able to spend the time in the foundation that I did.  We left giving both brothers and their families an open invitation to Puzzle Palace and hope they will take us up on our offer.