Seville – A Few Graffiti and Street Art Shots

Left: Toreador! Seville, Middle and Left: Bull and Bear Face


We didn’t wander far from the Sevilla center (around the cathedral or juderia) and consequently didn’t see much in the way of graffiti or street art. Here’s a couple of shots. Our favorite is the toreador (bullfighter) which as on the the actual arena in Sevilla (Real Masestranza de Caballería de Seivlla) or very close.

For more information about our A Tour of Andalusia: Córdoba, Seville and Granada.

Graffiti Doors in Seville

Left: Graduating Students of Years Past Put Their Name on the Cathedral; Right: A Face with Teeth

Madrid – Street Art and Graffiti Doors

Left: Figure and scooter. Right: Facebook is watching you.

Madrid was the last stop in our Anadusian tour (the itinerary). We spent 6 days in this wonderful city. The days were cool but sunny and we walked to everything we wanted to see. Along the way, we were always on the lookout for street art and graffiti.

The shops in Madrid, like many we’ve seen in Italy, usually have a protective metal cover (like a mini-garage door) that shopkeepers pull down over window and doors. (I confess don’t understood this aspect of European cities. I guess it’s for safety, but all I know is that it can be eerie when all shops on a street are shut tight like this.)

The metal covers usually have a horizontal, corrugated pattern. At least in central Madrid, these doors are the blank canvas for graffiti artists. Some businesses commission artwork for their doors, to control the imagery on their doors I would guess – a smart move. In this post, we show doors with graffiti – likely not commissioned by the specific business in question. Shown here are 121 photos of doors with graffiti or street art that we photographed in Madrid over 6 days. The 121 images are condensed into a mosaic of images (four different versions). The mosaic images were created by Picasa.  Also, we show a mosaic collage of street art we saw.

We stayed in the Chueca district where many of the photos were taken.

Four Variations of 121 Graffiti Doors in Central Madrid

Left: Pins on Map Showing Where We Walked In Madrid; Right: Street Art Sample in Madrid

Some favorites that we saw.

Left: Just divorced!  Right: Gathering in an empty lot.

Left: Panda door.  Right: Little serpent, a common graffiti icon.


Vent Animals

Left: Love Thy Cow.  Right: Madrid Jerez - Prancing Horse

Madrid – The Golden Triangle of Art

The Golden Triangle of Art is the name given to the group of three art museums in the center of Madrid, Spain. They are:

• Museo del Prado – the collection features European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 19th century.
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía – the collection features 20th century modern art. It is named for Queen Sofía.
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum - a private museum with a collection featuring a range of art from historical to contemporary that is not found in the other two museums.

The three are physically very close; you can easily walk between them. We went to all three during our 6 day stay in Madrid, on the end of the fab Travelmarx Andalusian tour (itinerary). We went once to the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza, and twice to the Reina. Each visit was 3-5 hours depending on if we stopped to grab something to eat in the museum. We could have easily spent additional time in all of them. Then again, we are museum junkies.

Left: El Prado-The Defense of Zaragoza (1818-1825) by Cubero; RIght: Reina Sofía Glass Elevator

Reina Sofía Hallway (the building was a hospital); Courtyard Between Old and New

Left: Paseo del Prado – On Our Way to the Prado; Right: Thyssen Inside

Granada – A Sampling of Street Art and Graffiti

On our Andalusian tour (itinerary), I was eagerly awaiting our visit to Granada based on what I read about the street art scene. It didn’t disappoint even though we only had one afternoon to find pieces. We tried the Oasis Hostel Graffiti Tour, but it was not running on the day we stopped by the Hostel. So, we went looking on our own. This post documents what we found.