A few years ago, an Italian-American friend and I were comparing the preoccupation with morbidity within Catholicism between Italy and Spain. I asserted that it doesn't get any more extreme than Spain, while he made his case for Italy. Well Tony, you can do Italy in your own blog; this spot's about Spain ...
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| The Real Convento de la Encarnación |
Since we live in the heart of the original city of Madrid, the oldest stuff is right here. And while Madrid is not an old city by Spain's standards, the oldest churches in the city are within easy walking distance of "home". So this afternoon, I dragged Chris to nearby churches and convents. At least that was my plan. After the first stop Chris had had enough (to those in the Dobson family, think H.B.) and went home, while I went on to complete my list of stops (think Teresa). Together, we saw the Real Convento de la Encarnación, which has an incredible art collection. It was completed in 1616 and is famous for being the convent which took in many noble and royal novices. Along with the young women came huge dowries from their wealthy families, and as a result of that and the fact that the convent is forbidden to sell any of their works of art, they have a phenomenal art collection today. However, over the centuries the convent lost all of it's cash and was left with priceless property that they couldn't sell and no food on the table. So in 1960, the state and the Vatican intervened and allowed the cloistered nuns to open their doors to the public for an admission fee. And today Chris and I supported the nuns by viewing their amazing art collection.
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| Okay, am I the only one creeped-out by this? |
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| The blood filled orb within a latern |
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| Wow Mom! Would you look at that finger? |
However, no good Catholic institution fails to come without a story, and so brings me to my earlier reference of my conversation with Tony. There's an element of the Catholic church that loves its relics, and the Encarnación is no exception. They have a tiny glass orb filled with dried blood within a glass lantern that they trot out to the public each July 27th, because on that day, the blood miraculously returns back to it's original liquid state. And just to up the ante, if it doesn't liquify in a particular year, some bad (unspecified) shit is gonna happen. And while we're on the subject of creepy, I thought I'd throw in a picture of their sculpture of Christ as he lay in state. I don't mean to rag on the little sisters of the Encarnación, but this over-the-top morbid stuff really wierds me out. Twenty years ago, Mom and I went to a church in Spain that had the
index finger of Saint Teresa. I felt like we were Uncle Fester and Morticia just by looking at it. You listening Tony?
Of course, all of the conspicuous opulence of the Catholic church belongs to history and not to the modern world. It harkens the mentality of people in that period of history, regardless of which religion they happened to have been, and the misplaced priorities of the era. Whew, thank God we've evolved beyond that, huh? The result was not only some amazingly beautiful art and architecture, it also produced some really gaudy stuff too. Here are few altars we've seen in Madrid:
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| Just Right ! |
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| Good ... |
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| Better ... |
While Chris and I were out yesterday, Chris observed that "demasiado" (too much) doesn't only apply to church altar ornamentation. We found it in the bar where we stopped in for lunch. If one elaborate sconce looks good, then four will look ¡Fantastico! And just the right scale for the painting too ...
