After twenty days abroad, it was time to say goodbye to Europe and head back to the United States. If you remember (in this entry) I mentioned that I flew from Atlanta to Barcelona. The flight back to Atlanta, however, was from Madrid.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting images from Spain and other parts of Europe which I visited. Starting today: the Royal Palace (Palacio Real) of Madrid, which I visited yesterday, during my last full day in Spain.

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of His Majesty The King of Spain, who makes use of it for official ceremonies, though the King does not reside there (the current royal family lives in the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid). The origins of the Palacio Real go back to the 9th century, during which the Islamic Kingdom of Toledo built a defensive fort on the site, later used by the Kings of Castile (one of the four kingdoms of Spain). It was on this ancient fortress that the Old Alcázar was constructed in the 16th century.

The Alcázar was destroyed by fire on Christmas Eve, 1734, and King Philip V wished for a New Palace occupying the same site. The entire complex was built with stone and brick vaulting, without any wood, so that no future fire could destroy it. Construction took place from 1738 to 1755, and King Charles III took up residence in the Palace in 1764. The building forms a massive quadrilateral made of white granite measuring 140 meters (459 feet) on the sides, and has some 2,800 rooms of which only about 50 are open to visitors. I had an audio guide during my tour of the Palace, and I learned a lot in the three hours that I spent at the Palace.

The Palace also contains a magnificent Painting Gallery, with major works including the 'Polyptych' by Juan de Flandes, 'Salomé' by Caravaggio, 'The Horse' by Velázquez, and several works by Goya. There is also an outstanding collection of armour in the Royal Armoury, which traces the armour used in Spain over a span of several centuries. Most interesting to me, however, was seeing the world's only complete Stradivarius string quartet (two violins, the Spanish Court cello, and the Spanish Court viola). The Stradivarius instruments are most famous for the quality of their sound, which has not been reproduced to date. Stradivarius instruments are the finest in the world, and it was very neat to see them in person at the Palacio Real in Madrid.

About the image: it was captured with the Canon 5D and the Canon 100mm macro lens. Click here to see a picture of the set-up.

< main | comments | purchase a print
12"x8" matte print @ 40.00 US Dollars
12"x8" metallic print @ 45.00 US Dollars
10"x15" matte print @ 55.00 US Dollars
10"x15" metallic print @ 60.00 US Dollars
10"x20" matte print @ 75.00 US Dollars
10"x20" metallic print @ 80.00 US Dollars
12"x18" matte print @ 90.00 US Dollars
12"x18" metallic print @ 95.00 US Dollars
16"x24" matte print @ 115.00 US Dollars
16"x24" metallic print @ 120.00 US Dollars
20"x30" matte print @ 145.00 US Dollars
20"x30" metallic print @ 150.00 US Dollars
20"x30" gallery wrap @ 350.00 US Dollars
high resolution image (non-commercial use) @ 500.00 US Dollars
high resolution image (commercial use) @ 1,000.00 US Dollars
ongoing prints sale: one 8"x10" print @ $30.00 US Dollars
ongoing prints sale: two 8"x10" prints @ $50.00 US Dollars
ongoing prints sale: three 8"x10" prints @ $60.00 US Dollars
ongoing prints sale: four 8"x10" prints @ $75.00 US Dollars
ongoing prints sale: five 8"x10" prints @ $90.00 US Dollars
| archives & galleries | about | VFXY | RSS | coolphotoblogs • listed • VOTE | hire me 		>
facebook page | flickr | ongoing prints sale | Prints Sale for Haiti | books • blog | share this!
Copyright © 2006-2010 Erudite Expressions | contact me