2009 02 28 - Business Times - Addicted to Madrid

MODERN MASTERPIECES
The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (above) stands as a beacon of modernity and sophistication. The glass facades are at once industrial, cool and futuristic. Inside, the museum features a heady collection of 20th century crowd pleasers such as Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro, This is also where you can indulge in Salvador Dali's surrealist fantasies, including El Gran Masturbador (next)





IN GOOD COMPANY
Get up close with the Old Masters such as Titian, Velazquez, Rembrandt and Goya in the Prado (above). Later in the day, hit the bars, mingle with the madrilenos, and savour the city's pulsating nightlife (next)





BIG IS BEAUTIFUL
The sun-drenched Puerta del Sol (next), and the majestic Puerta de Alcala (above) which inspires reverence with its sheer scale and verbosity

Addicted to Madrid
Get lost in the Prado or stroll back in time along The Art Walk, but be forewarned - Madrid will haunt you long after you leave. By Emilyn Ang
ERNEST Hemingway once wrote that Madrid is the most Spanish of all cities. Perhaps he was seduced by the running of the bulls, smells of garlic-infused cuttlefish from the tapas bars or the masterpieces from Goya and Rembrandt or Dali and Picasso. Or perhaps it was the intensity of the flamenco dancer - whose haunting movements and intricate footwork highlight all that is beguiling and relentless about a night in Spain's storied city.

Once shrouded under the dark cloud of Franco's totalitarian grip, this renaissance city of over 3.2 million offers endless possibilities for art, music and culinary delights. But what strikes you most about this fiery city is the sweeping vista of its architecture - which opens your eyes to a beautiful world of artistic expression stretching from the 16th century to the present.

It has been said that architecture can reflect the emotions of its time and the one-year-old CaixaForum cultural centre in the city's cultural district is certainly a case in point. Redesigned by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron - whose work includes London's Tate Modern and the Olympic stadium in Beijing - this seven-floor, brick complex created from a century-old power station is, quite literally, uplifting. The building appears to defy gravity, as the architects employed unknown alchemy to get the building to hover above ground - no doubt as a symbol of defiance and ingenuity that mirrors Madrid's collective mindset. 'The removal of the base of the building left a covered plaza under the brick shell, which now appears to float above the street level,' declared the architects then. A visitor can find an urban haven underneath the unique structure or they can just gape at a 24-metre facade of undulating greenery created by the botanist Patrick Blanc on the vertically landscaped wall at the building's entrance.

The Puerta de Alcala, the magnificent entrance into central Madrid located in Independence Square, stands for a mightier and older identity, exemplifing the best of 18th century Spanish neo-classical architecture. Visitors are reduced to reverence by the sheer scale and verbosity of the monument. Expressive, grandiose and some say indulgent - rhythmic ornamental arches form the centre of this 20-metre monument, replete with majestic lions and cornucopias created by the French sculptor Roberto Michel.

The arch itself was built of limestone and each part has a stone engraving commemorating Carlos III, who ruled Spain in the 1700s. Carlos III may well have been a typical despot of the age but from today's view we can thank him for the favour showed to his architect, the great Francesco Sabatini, who was responsible for this, and several other architectural wonders.

The Art Walk
One of the city's key highlights is the lavishly landscaped promenade known as The Art Walk, a stunning mecca of the most famous museums, gardens and monuments in the city. First up is the world-renowned Prado Museum, housed in an 18th-century building by architect Juan de Villanueva, father of Spanish neo-classicism. The Prado originally served the elite and housed the vast royal collections of Spanish Monarchs before being transformed into a museum in 1819.

Its collection spans the Spanish, Italian, Flemish, French and German schools and its treasure trove includes Velazquez, Goya, Rubens, Titian and Rembrandt. It holds over 16,000 pieces of art in its permanent collection and is best known for heavyweights such as David with the Head of Goliath, Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas, and Francisco de Goya's poignant The Third of May 1808.

The last work commemorates the Spanish resistance to Napoleon and the powerful depiction of the fighters dying for liberty is so overwhelming that you will need a moment to catch your breath.

The Dali dalliance
But if you feel trapped in a time warp, it's not hard to get back to the future in Madrid. Take a short walk to Spain's national contemporary art museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, and admire the very pinnacle of contemporary urban architecture.

Designed by British architect Ian Ritchie, the building stands as a beacon of modernity and sophistication. 'Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light,' Le Corbusier once said, and this British architect seems to agree - the glass facades are at once industrial, cool and futuristic. Inside, the museum boasts a heady collection of crowd pleasers from the 20th century, including the likes of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.

Here, indulging in Dali's surreal fantasies is a must. Visitors can take in El Gran Masturbador or Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian dog), one of the best-known surrealist films of the avant-garde movement of the 1920s. Directed by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, the shock value of the film remains undiluted - visitors never fail to flinch at the famous slicing of the eyeball or a hand crawling with ants.

Close to both museums is the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, a proud cornerstone that seals this golden triangle of art. The building itself reflects an early 20th century neo-classical style by architect Rafael Moneo, and features a mixed private collection started by the late Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, a wealthy industrialist of the 1980s who amassed paintings from Van Eyck and Van Gogh to Picasso and Mondrian. This extraordinary collection complements the Prado's collection of Old Masters and the modern and contemporary styles housed at the Reina Sofìa.

But Madrid is not just about the arts or buildings; it's also the night life and the people. Cliched as it may sound to say a city never sleeps, it is, however, particularly apt for Madrid, with it being quite common to see scores of people out and about, still revelling at five and six in the morning. Crowds often make a quick stop at food stands selling fresh churros con chocolate - Spanish doughnuts dipped in hot chocolate - to satisfy the hunger cravings after a big night out.

A trip to Madrid would also be a waste if you missed seeing at least one flamenco performance. The Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival, Madrid's largest event which kicked off on Feb 20, showcases some of the best singers, dancers and musicians in the genre. This year, the festival paid tribute to accomplished flamenco singer Jose Merce and visitors can expect ferocious, sensuous dancing, culminating in a performance by guitarist Moraito Chico on March 2, the festival's final evening.

Time is always in short supply and it is often hard to take in all of its treasures. But after returning home from a blissful holiday in Madrid, experiences come back in vibrant technicolour dreams - such as the stunning luminosity of Edgar Degas's dancers, walking among the hordes in the square Puerto del Sol, or seeing the flamenco dancer emerge from the darkness in punctuated stillness, with sweeping gestures and impassioned circling, before fading upon the first rays of morning light. But like a pining lover in Melendi's Un violinista en tu tejado, Madrid will haunt relentlessly, proving that time truly is relative until you return.