The prairie from where Goya painted Madrid

The prairie of San Isidro painted by Goya

Today I returned to the walks and never better said.

Many know the taste that I have to walk and to take pictures. Today, walking and walking, I discovered a park that I did not know.

I like gardens because, in addition to relaxing walking, they allow me to take pictures playing with perspective, with lights and shadows. Very possibly there will be people with their hidden and questioning stories and there may also be flowers with their beautiful colors.

The gardener had left the watering on, in various active spots. I was struck by the lights of the water drops in the backlight flowing and I entertained myself with a few pictures. I looked like led lights floating in the air.

The San Isidro Park is a garden of Madrid that I, personally, did not know. Well, to be exact, I did not know him during the day, because at night I knew him for the fiestas of San Isidro that I came to many years ago.

Today I could see that it is a well-kept park, spacious, with large areas of trimmed grass and that in the mornings, at least, is little visited.

I found that the neighbors find an ideal place to bring their dogs and that they are happy running in freedom and playing with each other.

Around here, retirees walk quietly and do their kilometers. There are also a few athletes who train.

San Isidro Park is a large green area that is close to the Manzanares River and the Madrid Rio Park that I like so much, and can easily be reached by metro.

I was surprised by the diaphanous, quiet, safe and careful that is. Now that the heat wave has begun to loosen, it shows that ideal freshness and that smell of wet earth that rejuvenates.

From here you can see a cemetery on the side and in front and beyond you can see, on the horizon, the silhouette of the Royal Palace, the Cathedral of Almudena, the tower of Madrid and the tower of Spain.

In the highest part of the park I found the sculpture of the Goya head. I have investigated what is due and the explanation is that this painter made a sketch in 1778 very famous with the unbeatable views of Madrid from the other side of the Manzanares.

Francisco de Goya made a very detailed sketch entitled "Pradera de San Isidro" (prairie of San Isidro). This painting was made for a series of cartons destined to make tapestries that would be used to decorate the bedrooms of the royal infants in the Palacio del Prado.

The illustrated royalty sought to represent the harmonious mixture of different estates and social classes. With this assignment, Goya took advantage of the pilgrimage of San Isidro and his unbeatable point of view, to represent the wishes of Carlos IV. With admirable mastery, in its dynamic and cheerful picture the humblest people mix with the most illustrious people dressed in French fashion jackets.

The park, as it did 200 years ago, consists of some gentle meadows to which the people of Madrid went in pilgrimage, on the other side of the Manzanares, to the hermitage of San Isidro (patron saint of the city).

This moment of recreation is what Goya painted and is the explanation to the sculpture. So, unwittingly, I discovered the best views of Madrid and I've had a great time.

Then, I had a coffee with milk and “churros” with what I have put the "golden clasp" in the morning. So, with a taste for simple things, I have been happy and relaxed.

The San Isidro park has 355420 square meters. Here is celebrated the patron saint of the capital of Spain on May 15.

A mother plays with her son and her dog with the water from one of the ponds

The bank in front of the cemetery seems to wait for a user to admire the landscape.

This park has been conceived as a place of popular leisure, especially during the San Isidro fiestas. In the time of Goya and much later a pilgrimage was celebrated, that is to say, a fun pilgrimage with carts and animals that started from the Puerta de Sol and reached the hermitage of San Isidro.

I was struck by the lights of the water drops in the backlight flowing and I entertained myself with a few pictures. I looked like led lights floating in the air.

The quick drops and the silhouette of the background look like sparks of fire before a malevolent ghost.

From left to right: Silhouettes of the Madrid Tower, Royal Palace, Almudena Cathedral.

En el margen oeste del río Manzanares, el parque cuenta con amplios paseos, arboledas y praderas.

From left to right: Silhouettes of the Madrid Tower, Royal Palace, Almudena Cathedral and San Francisco el Grande.

The prairie of San Isidro painted by Goya

The illustrated royalty sought to represent the harmonious mixture of different estates and social classes. With this assignment, Goya took advantage of the pilgrimage of San Isidro and his unbeatable point of view, to represent the wishes of Carlos IV. In its dynamic and cheerful picture the humblest people mix with the most illustrious people dressed in French fashion jackets.

I sincerely hope that you liked this publication. I wrote it with enthusiasm remembering the trip. My intention has been to accompany me, providing information but without being boring. I hope to count on you in other experiences.

All the photos are original and mine. I made with my iPhone 6. Also, I am the author of the separator drawings.

I await your comments!

¡Buen Camino!