Put it on your agenda: from May 2 to 5!
From prehistoric and ancient paintings to contemporary and modern ones, we have been decorating our lives with petals for centuries , and the art is a clear example of it. Decorating with flowers is not only a way to dazzle our retinas, but they are also an element loaded with symbolism.
For this reason, the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum and the Royal Botanical Garden , located in the Paseo del Prado in Madrid They have scheduled a series of Guided visits , both floral and artistic, which will take place on the days May 2, 3, 4 and 5.
You will fall in love with the tulips of the Botanical Garden
'Al Thyssen from the Botanist. A walk among the flowers is the name of this wonderful initiative where lilies, columbines, roses, daffodils, tulips, chamomiles, marshmallows, or peonies are the real protagonists, analyzing a total of fifteen species.
Fifteen of the 8,000 living plants from different countries that make up the collection of the Royal Botanical Garden, which also has one of the best herbariums ** Europe ** and the most important botanical library and historical archive in Spain .
Botanical Garden Peonies
The tour will start in the iconic Madrid garden at 11:00 a.m. and will put the finishing touch with a walk -which will begin at at 12:30 p.m. - through the rosy rooms of the museum, in search of the masterpieces of the collection in which flowers are represented that the visitor has previously contemplated.
The 17th century was the turning point, flowers went from being a common adornment to becoming the object of desire of the whole European society , especially the monarchy, which in the case of France , adopted the fleur de lys -a variant of the lily- as a symbol par excellence.
Its various shapes and colors have been the source of inspiration for artists of the stature of Carpaccio or Georgia O'Keeffe , who have managed to tell us stories and convey feelings through his representation.
'White Lily No. 7' by Georgia O'Keeffe
In fact, it's funny how O'Keeffe's work , marked by the sensual lines with which she draws large format flowers , evokes in most viewers images of female genitalia, which in no case was the intention of the American artist.
"Well, I've gotten you to look at what I've seen and when you take the time to really see my flower, allocate all your own associations about flowers to my flower and you write about my flower as if I were thinking and seeing what you think and see in the flower, but I don't see it”. declared O'Keeffe in 1939 on the occasion of an exhibition at the New York gallery An American Place.
But, despite the free interpretation of art, there are universal meanings. For example: the three lilies represent the Holy Trinity and its purity, the columbine represents the Holy Spirit, the sorcerers violet to death , the purple lily to royalty, violets are a symbol of humility and chamomiles of resurrection.
Young Knight in a Landscape by Vittore Carpaccio -the star work- , The Virgin with the Child enthroned Roger van der Weyden , Boy in a Turban and a Bouquet of Flowers by Michiel Sweerts, Woman with a Parasol in a Garden by Renoir or People's flowers by Richard Estes -with which the visit says goodbye-, are some of the jewels that draw the route.
'Young Knight in a Landscape' by Vittore Carpaccio
“ Most people, in the hustle and bustle of the city, do not have time to look at a flower. I want to know if this is more of a wish or an impediment," Georgia O'Keeffe said. So, slow down and let yourself be seduced by the art of spring.
You can book your visit from this friday april 26 through the website of Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum .