European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Above the Art museum holds works collected from throughout the Complex. At left a tourist examines the Marble Tomb of a member of the hapsburg family. Paintings and elaborate carvings cover the area behind the Basilica s altar. Philip watched services from an Alcove to the right. From Black and White Carrara Marble by Benvenuto Cellini. Philip thought the sculpture the Only nude Christ in Spain blasphemous and ordered it placed in an obscure Corner of the monastery. Even today strikingly lighted in a dim Chapel in the Basilica the ethereal statue s loins Are modestly draped with a cloth. The painfully puritanical and religious Philip he presided Over the inquisition at its bloodiest was not a fun Guy and Stark escorial strikingly reflects his personality. No one has Ever called the forbidding fortress like walled City Beautiful or even Quot handsome Quot instead Quot massive Quot or Quot impressive Quot Are the usual operative terms. A museum inside the Complex has a collection of paintings tapestries and other items previously scattered throughout the monastery. An exhibit in the vaulted basement traces escorial s construction through displays about the architects and craftsmen and their tools Bills and Choice of material. Al escorial closed on mondays can be easily reached from Madrid by train from the City s North station. The journey takes just under one hour. Admission is 1,000 pesetas for adults. Martyrdom of St. Maurice and the theban legion by Al Greco dominates a room in the museum. At left the eight sided pantheon of the Kings holds the remains of 400 years of Royalty. March 12, 1992 stripes Magazine 7
