Laura Freeman Laura Freeman

Tawdry lustre

The king squandered a fortune on his pleasure palace, comprising a theatre, ballroom, bullring, galleries, gardens and artificial lakes

issue 07 April 2018

‘Nine hours,’ boasted my friend the curator about his trip to the Prado. Nine! Two hours is my upper limit in a gallery. After that I’m gasping for the tea room and gift shop. Knowing my lack of stamina, my own trip to the Prado was focused: just Velázquez and Goya.

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