I've been trying to write this post for a couple of days, but I haven't had a chance to finish it until today. So since today is Wednesday, the day to share a walk, this post which is about a visit we made last weekend, my son, a friend of his, and I to the museums in Bellas Artes in Caracas, also includes a little walk through Los Caobos Park which will be my entry for this #WednesdayWalk.
My son wanted to go to the Galería de Arte Nacional and the Plaza de Los Museos in Bellas Artes, since he was very young the last time we visited. At first, I was a little hesitant. The country's museums are not at their best moment. They have been neglected in recent years. But in the end, I agreed. It was a good plan to share some time.
The Galería de Arte Nacional (GAN) is on Avenida Mexico a few blocks from the metro stations of Parque Carabobo and Bellas Artes, we went by car and parked near Parque Carabobo in the Candelaria sector.
The building that now houses the GAN was inaugurated in the first decade of the 2000s, although the museum dates back to the 1970s. Upon arrival, we walked down a huge hallway.
In the hallway, there are some sculptures. The first one we came across is a sculpture by Venezuelan painter and sculptor Oswaldo Vigas. The work is titled La Mantuana. This was the term used during the colony for the children of Spaniards who were born in these lands and were of the upper class.
The current GAN building is the largest museum ever built in the country.
Unfortunately, only one of the rooms was open to the public.
On the ground floor of the hall, there were works by Venezuelan painters of the 19th century, such as Cristobal Rojas, Martin Tovar y Tovar, and Arturo Michelena, to name a few of the most outstanding. On the upper floor of the hall, there were some small temporary exhibitions.
Among the most emblematic works of 19th-century Venezuelan art on display was the painting Miranda en La Carraca by Arturo Michelena.
Miranda was one of the heroes of the struggle for independence in Venezuela. But also a leading figure in the struggles for freedom in Africa and North America. He also fought in the French Revolution, and that is why his name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. But he died a prisoner in a jail in Cadiz in Spain, La Carraca.
Among the temporary exhibitions, the biggest was by a Venezuelan painter called José Antonio Gelhder. His work was new to me.
After visiting that room of the National Art Gallery, we left through Mexico Avenue and headed to the Plaza de Los Museos in Bellas Artes.
The Museo de Ciencias (Science Museum) is located in this square.
Here is also located the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) or what remains of it. The two buildings are separated by a green area which is the entrance to Los Caobos Park.
This visit was quite painful. I have such fond memories of this museum. Its central courtyard with the pond and Calder's work always seemed to me to bring peace. Today it is neglected.
The exhibition rooms are empty, and I wonder where all the artistic heritage that the museum housed went.
The cinematheque has stopped showing classic films. And the corridors of the museum were full of students of some theatre group because they were lying in the corridors doing their make-up. Of course, I preferred not to photograph such carelessness.
The very structure of the building is in a bad state, and it is painful to see works like these Calder clouds there as neglected witnesses of a glorious past which has not been preserved.
The sculpture courtyard where the museum cafe once stood is not much better.
Nobody takes care of the garden now.
So it was a quick visit, and we decided to go out and take a walk through Los Caobos Park, which is the point of my walk for this #WednesdayWalk.
I had not been to this park for many years. My son and his friend had never been there. This park has always been beautiful, but it has had bad times. And there used to be a lot of insecurity. But when we were there, we saw a lot of surveillance, maybe because there were many groups of children who seemed to be on school trips.
The truth is that it was nice to walk through the park.
There were kiosks and food stalls like this food truck.
We walked through the sculptures that were once part of the outdoor garden of the Museum of Fine Arts, which used to connect directly to the park. But at some point, to prevent vandalism, the museum had to be fenced. And some pieces, such as this golden elephant, were left on the park side.
As well as the head of El Pensador with its reflection in the pond.
The park was quite well kept.
The fountain was working, and there was a good atmosphere in general.
This fountain has the name Fuente Venezuela because the figures on it represent the different regions of the country.
After all, I had a good time strolling with my son and his friend.
After our walk through the park, the clouds were threatening rain. So we decided to leave the other museum we wanted to visit, the Museum of Contemporary Art, for another occasion.
So still being Wednesday on my side of the world, this is my post for this week's #wednesdaywalk challenge hosted by 
If you made it this far, thank you for reading.
All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.
© CoquiCoin
July 20, 2022