Fifth and Sixth Weeks in Ireland

Goya's Dance of the Majos at Banks of the Manzanares

      The past two weeks we traveled to Madrid, Spain and started our new Plant Science class in Dungarvan.  While we were in Spain, we were able to take in so many sights thanks to our Metro passes! Other than the tapas and sangria, I loved the art museums.  We visited the Prado, Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen-Bornemiza, all of which were magnificent and filled with all different styles of art.
     
       While reading and discussing Yeats' poetry, we classified much of his earlier work as Romantic style, while his later work transformed into something completely different.  It changed and assimilated to fit the Modernism time period.  Goya, a famous Spanish artist, seemed to go through a similar drastic change with his artwork.  The Prado was filled with Goya’s earlier and later works.  Similar to Yeats, Goya’s earlier pieces were much more light-hearted, colorful, and romantic.  However, there was an entire section of Goya’s “Black Paintings,” which were completely opposite of these earlier pieces.  Walking through the museum, it was hard to believe the same artist completed such Romantic pieces, and then a few years later created such heavy, dark paintings. Yeats’ transformation greatly reminded me of Goya.  Although I am not an expert on Goya, I would assume he either went through some psychological transformation, or he became fed up with society and chose to criticize it through art, like Yeats criticized the Irish people.  Either way, such a transformation from both artists left me gobsmacked (Irish slang is wonderful). 

Goya's "Saturn Devouring His Son

     Along with artwork, we were able to take a cable car around Madrid, shop at huge outdoor flea market called the "Rastro," and visit various plazas.  Additionally, we took tours of the bullfighting stadium and Santiago Bernabeu stadium.  Unfortunately, we could not actually see a bullfight because they only occur from May till October.  Bernabeu stadium is the home of the famous soccer team, Real Madrid.  Rinaldo and Kaka are two key players on Real Madrid.  Further, we were lucky enough to be able to see a Flamenco show.  The Flamenco dancers were incredibly exciting to watch.  Not only was their footwork amazing, but their faces displayed the deep emotional connection and passion they hold with dancing.