The Magic of the Cities.

Zen promotes the rediscovery of the obvious, which is so often lost in its familiarity and simplicity. It sees the miraculous in the common and magic in our everyday surroundings. When we are not rushed, and our minds are unclouded by conceptualizations, a veil will sometimes drop, introducing the viewer to a world unseen since childhood. ~ John Greer

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Palacio de Bellas Artes / Fine Arts Palace







Palacio de Bellas Artes (Spanish for Palace of Fine Arts) is the premier opera house of Mexico City. The building well known for both its Beaux Arts exterior in imported Italian Carrara white marble and its murals by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco.
The Palacio has two museums: the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Museo de la Arquitectura.
The theatre is used for classical music, opera and dance, notably the "Baile Folklórico". A distinctive feature of the theatre is its stained glass Tifany's curtain depicting a volcano and the valley of Mexico. It is the home of Mexico's National Symphony Orchestra, the Bellas Artes Orchestra, the Bellas Artes Chamber Orchestra, the National Dance Company, and the Bellas Artes Opera.
Rivera's "Man at the Crossroads" mural was originally painted for the Rockefeller Center in New York City. Rivera had finished ⅔ of the mural when the Rockefellers objected to an image of Vladimir Lenin in the mural. When Rivera refused to remove Lenin, his commission was cancelled and the mural was destroyed. Rivera repainted it a smaller scale at the Palacio in 1934 and renamed it "Man, Controller of the Universe"

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.
G. K. Chesterton

Bonne Annee
Prosit Neujahr
Felice Anno Nuovo
Feliz Ano Novo
Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Happy New Year
Feliz Año Nuevo

music+image

New York City and Washington series continue in Sketches of Cities.

Gracias por su visita. / Thanks for visiting, please be sure that I read each and every one of your kind comments and I appreciate them all. Stay tune.

9 comments:

brattcat said...

That top shot in particular is stunning. Thank you for this amazing collection of images and music through the year. I admire your work so very much. I raise a toast to many more provocative, extraordinary posts from you. Best wishes from Vermont.

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

gorgeous. i loved seeing mexico city. Feliz Ano Nuevo

Tony said...

Me ha gustado mucho la perspectiva vista desde abajo, es espectacular. Bueno Carraol te deseo una feliz noche 2009 y que al año que viene que sigamos en contacto...feliz 2010

Bob Crowe said...

Spectacular photography, especially the first one. The weather makes it so much more dramatic. Love the mural with Marx, Engels and Trotsky. We didn't have a chance to see the museum on our one visit to Mexico City. Some day...

Liz.Blog said...

This was spectacular! All best wishes for a happy New Year 2010!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Wow! Gorgeous photos, as always!
Happy New Year!
Cheers!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Carraol, voltei para dizer que fiquei impressionada com a primeira foto e a sua perspectiva. O Palácio de Bellas Artes é maravilhoso!
Abraços.

Eleonora Baldwin said...

Breathtaking! Especially the first one.
Happy new year, may it bring us all happiness, art, love and prosperity.

Ciao,
Eleonora

Shantaram said...

Beautiful pictures, Carraol. Here's wishing you the very best for 2010 - have a great year!