NATIVITY SCENE

A nativity scene, "Nacimiento ", " Misterio" or "Belen" in Spanish, in Norway we say that a loved child has many names, is the summum christmas decoration and the most traditional, is the exhibition of art objects representing the scene of the birth of Jesus.

The first created one is credited to Saint Francis of Asiss, the founder of the Franciscan Order, he was in the countryside of the Hermitage of Greccio, Italy in 1223, when he got the inspiration to reproduce the mistery of Jesus birth and built a barn of straw. Invited a small group of local people, brought  a manger, a donkey and an ox, this was what we call "a living nativity scene", many villages in Spain continue with the tradition, and live people participate together with the animals, you can have a look at the web site of the " Ayuntamiento"  in the place  you visit or live, there is always a Nacimiento, or a Belen.

The art form can be traced back to eighteenth-century Naples, Italy.The nativity scenes exhibit figures representing the infant Jesus, his mother Mary and the father Joseph  normally displayd in a barn, with the donkey and the ox (to give warmth) just beside, outside the shepherds and the sheep, and angels , the camels ridden by the 3 Magi, offering their gifts.

There can also be non religious figures as farm animals, the village, representing Bethlehem; with their people living, farmers, blacksmiths, soldiers, and people doing their handicraft work, baking bread, selling their goods, Mary washing clothes in the Jordan river, the river has a mill, a bridge, there are trees, plants, mountains,whole landscapes, families compete with each other to produce the most elaborated sceens.

 That's why every year the main squares in every town and village has stands selling onely figures and items for the Nativity Scene, the real good ones are made by local artists, they work the whole year producing, and then sell in December. Now there are figures at popular prices, and we let the girls arrange the Belen, what most young families do today, but when my husband was a boy, this was done by the grown ups, and almost wore a "Do not touch" sign, I prefere to think it was because the figures might where very expensive at that time.

The metropolitan Museum of Art in New York naually displays a Neapolitan Baroque Nativity Scene.On this link you can see it. you can also see the figures one by one:

metmuseum.org

                                        Nativity Scene from the University of Granada.

The Nativity Scene from Granada University , is exposed in front of El Corte Ingles, Carrera de la Virgen in Granada.

It's got so late, coming back tomorrow with the Mantecados recipe..
Night, Night.!!!!!!

ONE OF ANDREAS ART SCHOOL EXAMS + SOME X-MAS

The beginning.

The Photo.

The mosaic is cut outs from the newspaper, size 1/2 cm x 1/2 cm.

The work of very many hours is ready.

The artist.

Details  of this years x-mas tree.

x-mas candles are lit every day.

The x-mas pot pouri and incense  makes the house smell so nice and cozy.

From the 80ies, porselain painting, salt granny and pepper grandpa, made by my aunt Ninni.

Packing some gift cookies for friends.

Night ,night to all of you.

MALAGA AND CARMEN THYSSEN MUSEUM

Carmen  Cervera, called Tita popularly, born in Barcelona 23 of April 1943, was Miss Spain in 1961, after 3 broken marrages, she married  the Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemiza.

He inherited a buisness empire, and a major art collection with pictures of European masters from 14th to 19th century, and after his fathers death his business were limited to art. Prefering the German expressionism, he became a real expert in painting.

Tita was his 5th wife, in 1986 several European Cities competed about housing the Thyssen-Bornemisza art museum, and her influence was desicive persuading the Baron to decide on the future of his collection and cede the collection to Spain. Opened in May 2006, near  he Prado Museum, in what is called the"Golden Triangle of Art". More than 1600 paintings in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, the second largest in the world, after the British Royal Collection.

In 2011 the Baroness wanted to share her private collection, she comes from a art loving family, and her husband the Baron,  educated her to be an art collector herself.  The main focus is 19th century Spainish painting, predomantly Andalusian, and finally the16th century  Baroque Palacio de Villalon was partly reconstructed for this occation. In the more than 5000 sq. m. exhibition spaces,there  are three rooms for the permanent collection and two for temporary exhibitions. Situated in Calle Compañia number 10, to the left at the end of the main street Calle Larios in the old town of Malaga.

www.carmenthyssenmalaga.org

At the moment and until 23 of April 2014, Courbet, Van Gogh, Monet, Leger. From naturalist to Avant-gardes in the Carmen Thyssen Collection.

We had a wonderful morning at the museum, then a walk along the port to La Malagueta, and back through the park, and lunch in one of the bars in the buisy old town of Malaga.

And then some shopping, Malaga has really improved, from beeing a town the inhabitants was a sort of shamed of, to make a modern but traditional south Spanish city, much of this happend since the Picasso Museo was opened 10 years ago, Congratulation Malaga!!!!! ,

The museums coffe shop.

The patio.

Design.

Some of the pictures, we had a guided visit, you get to see the art from another perspective too.

Photographs can be taken, but without flash, sometimes difficult to get the right light, but  they give you an idea.

The new promenade Muelle Uno in the port of Malaga.

Beach of Malaga.

Town Hall of Malaga.

Alcazaba and the Roman Theatre

Some tapas in the old town.

Leaving Malaga at sunset.

Again Spain is not only sun and beach, we have a lot to offer.

Have a good sunday, my man is cooking a paella tomorrow, if he lets me I will share the recipe, jejeje.

Night, night to all of you.                                                                                                                                   

1st OF NOVEMBER ALL SAINTS DAY

Halloween celebrating has got very fashion in Spain, but it's a modern celebration, tomorrow the "Dia de Todos los Santos", All  Saints'Day, the tradition is to go to the graveyard to visit the graves of family and friends.

Several days before, people start cleaning, painting and decorating with fresh flowers, if you have been in the surroundings of a cementry the last days, you might have seen people carrying ladders, buckets and flowers. Since there is not enough space in the ground of the graveyards, you have the "nichos",  and to reach the highest ones they need a ladder. There are some public ones, but it can be a long time to wait to get one, so people bring their own ones from home.

Lots of people travel a long way to go to their home town to look after the graves on this day, years ago I have seen places where they brougt the picnic to the cementry.

The Spanish "Camposanto" (Holy Ground) has always been respected, and lots of  them have or are beeing restored, in Granada it has the privilege to be situated just behind the Alhambra, actally you use the same parking. A route of the memory was made to visit the histrorical mausoleums, the art was a sign of power and wealth, many of the mausoleums are made by local artist, but also of national and international well known sculptors.

The guided visits show you the most significant art work, the San Jose Cementry is one of the most ancients in Spain, dates from XIX  and occupies 110 000 square meters,divided  in 19 patios, one of them has a chapel, La Ermita, in new romantic style, now restored ,where you can bury the ashes.

www.granadadirect.com/rutas/cementerio-granada/

The photographs are from the cementry in Otura,  the little town where we live, but here and everywhere in Spain, you can sea the respect and the care for the deceased.

Hope you get some good treats tonight, and the best is tomorrow beeing holiday, in Spain when you have a holiday together with a week end it's called "puente", bridge, and we use it to travel, see family and friends, discover something new, students go home to be with family, so be careful on the road.

Happy Hallloween !!!!!!