Art, Contemplation and Scenic Beauty at the Monastery of Santa María de El Paular by Francisca Hernández Hernández

126 | MUSEUM international rancisca Hernández Hernández is a professor at the Universidad Complutense de . A member Fof ICOM and its International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM), she contributes regularly to the ICOFOM Study Series. Her current research is dedicated to the study of theoretical and practical museology and its interrelationship with natural and cultural heritage. She has published extensively on museums as spaces for communication and recollection.

MUSEUM international | 127 ounded in the late 14th century by order of Henry II of Castile, the Charterhouse of El Paular was built in the first half of the 15th centu- ry during the reign of his son John I, and remodelled and concluded in 1442 during the reign of John II. Over time, it became a testimony to the chief characteristics of art in Castile under the Trastámara dynasty. The original project consisted of three main buildings: the monastery, the church and the palace. Those who worked on it included master builders and architects such as Rodrigo Alfonso, Abderramán (a Morisco from Segovia who designed the Gothic Mudejar refectory), Juan Guas (who supervised the building of cloister, the atrium and the west front of the church), Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón (who worked on the porch leading onto the Ave Maria Court in the Fpalace) and Bartolomé Fernández (who carved the choir stalls in the 16th century). Its walls reveal how Castilian art evolved from the early Middle Ages up to a point of transition between the late Gothic and early Renaissance periods. This art dis- plays the distinctive features of Castilian society that made it possible. Like medieval Castile as a whole, the Charterhouse went through various moments of crisis and de- cline before re-emerging with even greater impetus and enthusiasm than before. The ultimate goal was to consolidate the collective and historical identity of a people who were fighting above all for survival owing to civil strife and dynastic wars (Ortega Cantero 2009, p. 31). It was Francisco Giner de los Ríos, through the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, who first pointed out the significance of El Paular in the history of . He organised regular trips for students from Madrid to the Charterhouse, where they were joined by intellectuals of the time. In the first two decades of the 20th century, El Paular became a meeting place for in- tellectuals, artists and visitors who stayed at the monastery. Led by Giner de los Ríos, figures like Manuel Bartolomé Cossío, Ramón Menéndez Pidal and his wife María Goyri, Francisco F. Villega, Enrique de la Mesa, Enrique de la Vega and others drew attention to the importance of the history, culture and landscape of the Charterhouse, and warned of the urgent need for restoration work.1 The directors of the Residencia de Paisajistas (Landscapist Residence) of El Paular, created in 1918, went to some lengths to ensure that its teaching would raise awareness of the site’s cultural value. Francisco Pompey, Enrique Simonet, Francisco Esteve, Rafael Pellicer and Martínez Vázquez were all painters who directed the Residencia and encouraged the creation of bursaries so that young artists could spend the summer months painting and meeting the intellectuals who were also regular visitors to the Charterhouse. The Residencia continued to take in these boarders until its final closure in 1953.

A rich collection of paintings n 1623, the prior, Juan de Baeza, com- arducho completed the vast picto- Imissioned 54 enormous paintings for Crial cycle between 1626 and 1632, the cloister of El Paular, measuring demonstrating a great sense of grandi- 3.45 × 3.15 metres apiece, from Vicente osity and monumentality (Fig. 1). He can Carducho (Florence c. 1576—Madrid be regarded as one of the most outstand- 1638), a royal painter in the service of ing painters of the Spanish Golden Age. both Philip III and, like his successor Every picture in the series is related to Velázquez, Philip IV (Delgado López the previous one, so by bringing them 1998-1999). All are on the subject of the together in the place for which they life of St Bruno of Cologne and the his- were originally intended (as described tory of the Carthusian order, of which he below), they have recovered their formal was the founder. relations and their intellectual and sym- Fig. 1. Carducho and Charterhouse history. bolic dimension. Carducho can also be © Wikipedia/public domain regarded as one of the great precursors of Spanish pictorial realism, and he re- corded his concept of painting in his a work entitled Diálogo sobre la teoría de la pintura, written in 1633.

128 | MUSEUM international n the 19th century, the Charterhouse Isuffered the consequences of the disen- tailment of church properties, and was sold to private individuals. The pictures went in 1836 to the ephemeral Museo de la Trinidad, and in 1870 to the , where they remained in storage until 1896, when they were distribut- ed somewhat randomly among various Spanish cities and provinces (Córdoba, Fig. 2. Restoration of Carducho’s paintings. © 2009 monasteriopaular.com Sevilla, Tortosa, La Coruña, Zamora and San Sebastián). The archive was also ne of the largest such undertak- hroughout the series of paintings, transferred to the Archivo Histórico Oings has been the restoration of TCarducho demonstrates his control Nacional, the library to the Biblioteca Carducho’s paintings. Of the 54 paint- of space and his narrative skill, using a Nacional, and the walnut choir stalls to ed by the master, 52 are preserved, the variety of figures and colours to situate the church of San Francisco el Grande in other two having disappeared in Tortosa the viewer through a series of gestures Madrid. The monastery reverted to state during the Civil War. They belong to and sentiments that lead to the heart possession in 1876, and was declared a the collections of the Museo del Prado, of the history of the . The national historic and artistic monument. and starting in 2002, the canvases were works follow a linear narrative that can In 1954, the government ceded it for use gathered and restored at the Museo del be grouped into two complementary se- to the order of Saint Benedict, which has Prado. They were returned to their orig- quences: the first 27 canvases relate the continued to occupy it to this day. inal formats and placed in the same po- life of St Bruno of Cologne, the founder sitions in the cloister they had occupied of the Carthusian order, from the mo- fter responsibility for its conser- according to Carducho’s designs, sur- ment of his conversion and his retreat Avation was assumed in 1978 by mounted by pointed arches in order to to the Grande Chartreuse until his death the Ministry of Culture through the match them with the Gothic arches of and first miracle; the rest of the pictures Institute for the Cultural Heritage of the cloister. It has thus proved possible show us the most significant acts of the Spain (IPCE), a Master Plan (BOE 1998; to re-establish the narrative sequence Carthusians in Europe from the 11th to Barceló de Torres and Ruiz Gómez 2013) of one of the most important such col- the 16th centuries, emphasising the or- was drawn up jointly with the regional lections in Europe. In particular, the in- der’s great influence on the spread of authorities of Madrid, the priority be- tervention on The Ecstasy of Father Jean monastic life. The viewer is therefore ing to restore the cloister and adapt it for Birelle has led to the recovery of some of confronted with scenes that recall their museum display purposes. the lost areas of colour thanks to the pre- lifestyle, epitomised by retirement to sol- paratory sketch of the canvas preserved itary landscapes, the ascetic life and the t was intended at the same time to re- at the Musée du Louvre. Special men- devotion of time to study and prayer. The Iturn Carducho’s works to their original tion should also be made of the resto- cycle ends with canvases showing how locations and guarantee their future con- ration of Eugenio Orozco’s Last Supper, the Carthusians of certain communities servation and public exhibition (Fig. 2). which belonged to the collection of the were persecuted and martyred as a result This Master Plan is managed by the Museo Cerralbo in Madrid, and is now of the political and religious wars of 15th Directorate-General for Fine Arts and on display in its original position in and 16th century Europe. The paintings Cultural Properties through the IPCE, the Gothic-Mudejar refectory. The new belong to a style of Baroque religiosity which has also undertaken the conser- hanging of the paintings was inaugurat- that emphasises values such as prayer, vation of the library, the monks’ cells, the ed on 28 July, 2011. martyrdom, miracles and mystic visions mill and the archaeological remains, to- or experiences. Together, they form the gether with the restoration of the roofs, fundamental basis of the museum’s per- the sacristy, the choir stalls, the high al- manent collection. tar and the west front of the church.

MUSEUM international | 129 The Cloister, an inhabited museum aradoxically, it is not merely a place ithin the monastery of El Paular, Pfor brief visits, but a `habitat´ where Wthe garden is the place where the people can live and relate to one another. soul is stilled, the meeting point where There are many readings to be applied to people have something to say to one an- the space of the museum, whether po- other. Monasteries have nature, history litical, sociological, anthropological, ar- and artistic beauty concentrated in and chitectural or environmental. All should around them, producing a sense of inner lead us to the conviction that the muse- relaxation in visitors that helps them re- um as public institution may be regard- gain their energy. Faced with the hectic ed as an inhabitable monument open to pace of big cities and the stress of every- all. In this regard, it is necessary to start day life, many people take refuge in from the principles of social ecology in monasteries for a few days in search of order to envisage a sustainable, inter- silence, relaxation and meditation. From connected, inhabitable and inhabited this point of view, they have become museum that is responsible towards its genuinely therapeutic places where it is environment. possible to find the inner serenity need- ed to recover from the stress of work have stressed that the museum com- and the incessant activity of daily living. Fig. 3. An image of the cloister. I prises the whole monastic complex of Monasteries use architecture, iconogra- © 2009 monasteriopaular.com church, chapter house, chapels, taberna- phy and music as therapeutic means for cle, cloister, monks’ cells, library, refec- healing the infirmities of body and soul, aken as an architectural whole made tory and kitchen garden, so that it can such as melancholy and depression. The Tup of the church, the cloister, the be regarded as a living museum. The very sound of the bells has a healing ef- refectory, the library and the monks’ fact that the monks live in the monas- fect on the emotional and psychological rooms, the monastery of El Paular can tery, playing an active role in its conser- state of those listening to them. be regarded as a genuinely inhabited vation and in the spread of the artistic museum, a living and dynamic space and spiritual values it embodies, shows or the monks, the garden is the clois- that is always open to transcendence for that we are here confronted with a new Fter, where they perform their phys- the traveller, whether a believer or not. way of conceiving the museum (Fig. 3). ical and spiritual labours and thereby The monks’ choice to place the monas- On guided tours, it is the monks them- convert it into a space for meditation and tery within natural settings and land- selves who explain the history and artis- contemplation. If the spiritual and ritual scapes that make it into an ideal garden tic and cultural content of the monastery centre of the monastery is the church, its is no surprise (Ramsés 2014). Here it is to visitors, and who transmit the spiri- soul and its emotional and psychological possible to create an intimate space of tual significance of a place that is both a centre is the cloister. The two are there- seclusion and an encounter with the di- museum and a spiritual centre. fore situated adjacently and with direct vine, converting it into a metaphor for access to each other. All of the monks’ the contemplative soul. The point of de- t the same time, a small museum has activities are organised around the clois- parture here is the fact that the cloister Abeen opened in one of the rooms ter, and the museum, library, refecto- where Carducho’s paintings are located leading off the cloister. It contains a nar- ry and dormitories all lead out to it. In is, together with the rest of the monas- rative of the history of the site and the the centre of the cloister there is always tery, the basis for the museum, which vicissitudes it has undergone, emphasis- a fountain, whose symbolism leads us thus becomes not only an inhabited ing the interest it has aroused as a place to the source from which the strength space but also an inhabitable place. of encounter and debate for various so- and energy of the community emanates. cial, political and religious groups. There In transmitting stillness and harmony, is also an exhibition on the entire process however, the cloister not only invites of restoration carried out on each of the contemplation but also becomes a living structural elements of the monastery. In metaphor of the contemplative act it- this way, visitors can gain an overall idea self. It is contemplation made form that of the transformations that have affect- marks the artistic variety to be found, its ed the monastery throughout its history. subjects and even its positioning, which always responds to both practical and symbolic concerns.

130 | MUSEUM international Contemplation and personal development n the cloister-museum, we discover he attitude of someone who enters ithin the monastery, the architec- Iplaces for encounters with others—the Tthe cloister-museum must be one Wture itself and all the sculptural other, the unknown—and are given the of openness to ‘ourselves’, the commu- and symbolic components form part of chance to create spaces of personal har- nal and the diverse, in the awareness the discourse on the museum as an in- mony that bring us closer to the vision that such openness is possible only if it habitable space. They all speak to the of reality held by the monks of old. This is deployed in the space we inhabit, and visitor of encounters and relations, of echoes the ‘safe places, safe spaces’ the- if we are prepared to modify it, when the experiences and testimonies both of ory. By contrast with the non-places of necessary, from the inside. We stand individual monks and of the communi- which Marc Auge (2000) writes, which before a museum considered as a space ties they formed a part of. If we observe are spaces of anonymity that provide us steeped in silence, and inviting reflec- the monastery from both the outside with various services but offer no life be- tion, questions, openness to the ‘other’ and the inside, we can perceive its artis- cause they are transitory, without roots or contemplation. In the cloister-muse- tic and museological value and its enor- or memory, there are also places and um, creativity, cohabitation and nature mous interest, not only because of what spaces with a large social component are combined in a unique experience. it once was but also because of what, de- where it is possible to participate, share, When we enter the cloister, we penetrate spite its period of abandonment and de- establish relations and undergo healing a space that has been lived in, going on terioration, it is destined to become in experiences. These are spaces where di- an interior voyage through the history the future: a new source of inspiration alogue, fraternity, harmony and mutual of the Charterhouse while experienc- and creative movement. respect are nurtured. Their similarity to ing the pleasure of inhabiting a space monastic space is significant. through which life flows and is contin- hose who enter the cloister-museum ually renewed. This is a museography of Tfind not a monotonous and imper- e are offered a chance to play out immersion, where the visitor is invited to sonal ‘non-place’ rather, they encounter Wthe theatre of life in a place with- live out a unique experience in a setting an atmosphere laden with memories and out noise or commercial activity that that is real rather than fictional (Fig. 4). accumulated pieces of lives that refuse might distract us from the aesthetic ex- to disappear, and which interrogate and perience. Inside the museum, we are able question our current lifestyle. The can- to experience how vivid and intense sen- vases on the walls may be interpreted as sory stimuli can be, and how they can drawing our attention to lives involved constantly provoke us. On occasions, we in events of historical importance, invit- may even perceive them in a state of cha- ing us to recreate and improve on them os, although they can also appear to us as in the future. At heart, we find ourselves integrated in an experience of calmness before a critical museum that does not and tranquillity despite its variegated attempt to leave us impassive. On the nature and its frequently dissonant har- contrary, it provokes us and awakens us monies. These do not matter, since dis- from the possible lethargy of everyday sonance, like silence, can become music. routine with the aim of improving ev- A walk through the cloister-museum can eryday reality. become a sensorial symphony, since we must not forget that the contemplative attitude often resides more in that which is contemplated than in the person who contemplates it. For this reason, only the contemplative is creative.

Fig. 4. Garden of the cloister. © 2009 monasteriopaular.com

MUSEUM international | 131 A threefold way of conceiving the museum hen we enter the Lozoya Valley t is not a question of freezing a mo- owever, the landscape is also a com- Wand approach the monastery of El Iment of everyday life in space, like a Hplex reality that poses various man- Paular, the landscape before us offers the photograph, but of perceiving the sen- agement problems, since its components opportunity of an aesthetic experience sory beauty displayed in the landscape are both natural and cultural, material allowing us to visit and inhabit it. The and scenic surroundings: the mountains, and immaterial, tangible and intangi- visitor’s first contact with the landscape the river, the weirs, the lake, the forest ble. The landscape possesses a holistic is an invitation to discover the monas- and the paths connecting one spot with nature that integrates elements of nature tery, an inhabited dwelling, and the scen- another. In this environment stands the and culture, space and time, objects and ery to which it belongs. It calls on us to monastery and the museum, which help perceptions that can be focused through recognise the whole of the heritage en- us to define our perception of reality. a great many disciplines and professions. compassing the space we inhabit, and, This is manifested through the diversi- The cultural landscape includes a set of having recognised it, to start to explore ty of the natural and cultural heritage inherited resources, which reflect the it in the knowledge that all we see is in- present. It is the result of different fac- values, beliefs and traditions of a con- habited and accessible, for in this way tors that emerge over time from the re- stantly evolving society, and result from alone is it possible to value and preserve lations of human beings with their natu- the interaction over time of people with it. The territory and the landscape form ral environment. The aggregated settings their environment. The landscape is the the starting point for a broad perspec- of the monastery, museum and natural bearer of the values of the people and so- tive over the spaces with concentrations surroundings constitute a patrimonial ciety that inhabit, modify, perceive and of architectural monuments and places grouping that demands to be under- manage it. There is, then, an individual of special interest. All of these enable stood, fostered and complemented. They and collective responsibility towards the an interaction between nature and cul- cannot be conceived in isolation from landscape, a cultural heritage that holds ture, between the physical environment one other, but must be taken as a set if a value and potential which, when prop- and its history. There are thus three ways they are to be valued and protected as an erly managed, can become a source of of conceiving and understanding the indivisible whole, for they all form part development and ensure an enhanced museum as a plural and globalising re- of an outstanding universal value within quality of life. ality. Everything is now a museum, or a broad concept of the museum. rather, the museum takes responsibil- onsciousness of the rapid transfor- ity not only for its collections, but also t was in 1992 that the UNESCO World Cmations currently affecting Spain’s for all the cultural and natural heritage IHeritage Convention for the first time rural areas has brought growing con- that surrounds it, although it is not di- recognised the value of cultural land- cern over the continual danger of degra- rectly responsible, because the monas- scape, defined as the result of a series of dation of the landscape, which is regard- tery does not actually own the lands. natural and cultural components, both ed as another utility for consumption They are managed by the local Council tangible and intangible, in a specific ter- and is therefore vulnerable to deteriora- and SEPRONA (the Spanish Nature ritory. These include not only ecological tion. This has led to great emphasis on Protection Service), which are in charge and aesthetic values, but other aspects the perception of landscape, which has of ensuring the conservation of the area’s pertaining to the quality of human life, come to be regarded as an element con- natural life and water resources. identity, collective memory and heritage tributing to societal well-being and the value. The cultural landscape can thus be enhanced quality of life of its members. considered a dynamic and complex real- Natural and cultural landscapes have ity resulting from the environmental, so- thus become an essential part of the in- cial, economic and cultural processes of creasingly broad offer of tourism in the transformation undergone by a territory countryside, thereby raising society’s es- over the course of time. This demands teem for the agricultural landscape and mechanisms that enable to identify, pro- consideration of its heritage as a legacy tect and provide suitable management to be preserved and enjoyed. for it, as established in the European Land­scape Convention, signed in Florence, Italy, in October 2000 and ratified by Spain in 2007, and the Ibero-­ American Cultur­al Land­scape Charter (IPCE 2012), approved in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in November 2012.

132 | MUSEUM international Fig. 5. The cultural landscape underlying the monastery backdrop. © 2009 monasteriopaular.com

orking in this direction, a National he importance of the project can be WPlan for Cultural Landscape was Targued on historical, architectural, drawn up in Spain in 2002 (Cruz 2012). artistic, museological, ecological and It included a report on ‘El Paular and its geomorphological grounds. By taking surroundings. Referential aspects of its into account all the elements constitut- value enhancement, protection, delimi- ing the landscape around the monastery, tation and use as a Cultural Landscape’. including the physical setting, historical The monastery of El Paular is an example processes and social uses of the territo- of how it is possible to understand the ry together with an analysis of the peo- monastic and artistic life and thought ple who made it possible, it can be as- reflected in architecture, painting and certained exactly which features mark El sculpture by combining it closely with Paular’s quality as a model of a cultural human beings and their environment heritage landscape. (Fig. 5). Still surviving today, indeed, is a cultural landscape that has perfectly t may be added at this stage that many integrated the life of the past into that Imonasteries all over Europe have been of the present in the heart of the Upper declared World Heritage Sites, with out- Lozoya Valley. standing examples in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Bulgaria, ith the project to restore the mon- Georgia, Romania, Serbia and Russia. Wastery and the pictures in the clois- All can be regarded as active guardians ter, an attempt has been made to offer a of the cultural landscape in which they vision of El Paular’s historical past and are located, and all are characterised by present. In this way, the foundations are a close relationship between the natural laid for correct management of a territo- and the intangible heritage. ry viewed as a cultural landscape.

MUSEUM international | 133 A Planned Interpretation Centre he project of setting up a Planned will also endeavour to offer a multisen- ince the cultural heritage of El Paular TInterpretation Centre for El Paular sory tour of the local scenery, biodiver- Sis linked to a very attractive natural and its surroundings is under the auspic- sity and traditional culture, as well as of setting, it could become a major con- es of the Spanish Ministry of Education, the flora and fauna of the Lozoya Valley tributor to the development of tourism Culture and Sport, currently still under and the Guadarrama Mountains. This (Hernández 2009), allowing the public construction at El Paular, is intended to project necessarily involves a clear set to experience a direct encounter with raise sensibility and awareness among of goals that will lead to specific pro- its cultural values and thus helping to both the local community and outside grammes and activities, and these will spread them. At the same time, it can visitors on the need to look at the land- in turn require a process of evaluation help to promote projects to study, inves- scape and change their perception of it. to assess their effectiveness and ascertain tigate, preserve and restore the complex The goal is for the landscape to be viewed what needs to be corrected or boosted. cultural heritage encompassed by the as an essential element that must be pro- museum and its environment. In this tected and preserved because it forms owever, the task is not an easy one, respect, it must be said that the pub- part of the cultural and natural heritage Hsince relations between the museum lic that tends to visit the museum and of the area. By advocating a respectful at- and the territorial community are not al- monastery of El Paular is primarily mid- titude towards the environment, the mu- ways fluid enough to allow for full collab- dle class, and does not generally spend seum aims to foster inquiry and spread oration in the management of the local much in the region, devoting their time knowledge of the cultural heritage and heritage. This reminds us how import- to climbing up to the monastery and hik- its environs so that it will be recognised, ant ecomuseums have been in promot- ing in the surroundings. As the number valued, conserved and disseminated. ing community participation in heritage of weekend visitors to the Lozoya Valley management. It is therefore necessary to is fairly high, it must be ensured that the he museum takes responsibility for balance the management of the territory heritage is not damaged or destroyed Tthe surrounding landscape, though with the protection of heritage and cul- through improper use. It is essential to it does not manage it, and regards it as tural landscapes. Nevertheless, the Town avoid any negative impact that would an integral part of itself. It is aware that Council of Rascafría has shown full will- affect its cultural and natural integrity the collection, the monastery and clois- ingness to assist in its correct implemen- and to strive for its maintenance so that ter and its natural backdrop are all es- tation. It is evidently also necessary to it may be enjoyed by all members of so- sential parts of a whole that constitutes educate the local population on their ciety, present and future. the cultural heritage; this is manifested, heritage and cultural landscape, arous- expressed and translated through the ing their curiosity and appreciation. works of art, the building that houses them, the setting where they are exhib- t the same time, this population ited, the landscape that surrounds them Amust be prepared to protect, con- and the contemplative atmosphere that serve, develop and disseminate it. Only envelops them. We should not underes- thus will the realisation come about timate the importance of the presence of that it is necessary to work on the ba- the monks for keeping this place alive sis of a shared commitment. Museum and dynamic, with the same significance and community are indeed both re- as it originally bore (Fig. 6). This is their quired to function actively and dynam- greatest contribution, in the sense that ically as equals; both must provide the they constitute a true intangible herit- means necessary for further investiga- age value, which should not be left aside tion, for the empowerment of individu- when it comes to completing the project als and the promotion of scientific activ- for the future Interpretation Centre. ities that will help broaden knowledge of museology and the natural environment he creation of the Interpretation alike. The museum and Town Council TCentre is intended to provide a new must also carry out a detailed analysis focus on the management of the museo- of the conditions that will be necessary logical complex by broadening it to pro- for the Interpretation Centre to achieve mote the protection of the region’s cul- sustainability, covering the expenses of tural and natural heritage. At the same the infrastructure, logistics and human time, the involvement of the local com- resources essential for it to function munity is requested in ensuring respon- normally. sible use of their patrimonial resources Fig. 6. The church as a place opening onto and safeguarding the integrity of their the transcendent. heritage. Museum and local commu- © 2009 monasteriopaular.com nities, through a mutual collaboration agreement, thus become guardians of the historical and cultural value of the landscape around the monastery, with a commitment to the sustainable devel- opment of the region. To this end, they

134 | MUSEUM international Towards a museum respectful of nature, silence and contemplation oday, the museum has truly under- he museum of Carducho’s paint- its interior and its exterior space, where Tgone a process of transformation Tings has the mission of allowing the people go not to kill time but to create that has made it more open, more uni- public to discover, contemplate and en- quality moments and encounter spac- versal and more sensitive to those reali- joy these works. The museum moreover es that will help them grow in terms of ties that favour the integral development seeks to accompany visitors on their humanity. The museum must cultivate of the human being. It might even be as- discovery of admiration and respect the artistic dimension and the symbolic serted that the museum of El Paular in- for the natural scenery that completely expression that allows human beings to tegrates four spaces with privileged links surrounds the monastery, inviting them transcend the senses; it must humanise to the transcendent, expressed according to care for it and consider it a gift to be the sacred and profane rites taking place to Dürckheim (1999) through nature, enjoyed, conserved and protected. The within it so that they will fulfil their mis- art, meeting and worship. museum must make it possible for sig- sion of expressing what we are frequently nificant encounters to take place in both unable to communicate in words.

he museum should no longer be considered a reality isolated from its environment, since with the landscape it forms a whole and has the mission of making society aware of the need to confront it with an attitude of renewed respect. Museum and landscape Tform a patrimonial unit in symbiosis, making it difficult to tell where one entity ends and the other begins, for, while the collections are important, so too is the space that contains them and the landscape that surrounds them. It is time, then, to understand the heritage as an ambit in which people move and discover the value of beauty and aesthetics, which can be manifested as easily in a painting as in the trees of the garden or the landscape which gives everything its meaning. The museum breaks out of its walls, making way for a museum that is no longer imagined but lived, shared and celebrated within an environmental framework where reverential respect is felt for nature. In this case, it is also accompanied by the monastery inhabited by its monks— the transcendental aura of a holy place.

Notes Bibliography 1 All these figures are linked to the Institución ӹӹ Auge, M. 2000. Los no lugares: Espacios ӹӹ Ramsés, Dr. 2014. [Online]. El Jardín Medieval Libre de Enseñanza, and their teaching, their del Anonimato. Antropología sobremodernidad. (III). Available at: http://agnosis2.blogspot. historical and literary research. Their fondness : Ediciones Gedisa. com.es/2014/04/el-jardin-medieval-iii.html for excursions to the countryside made them ӹӹ Barceló de Torres, E. and Ruiz Gómez, L. [accessed 20 December 2015]. staunch advocates for the conservation of the 2013. La recuperación de El Paular. Madrid: ӹӹ Resolución del 27 de febrero de 1998, Lozoya Valley and the monastery of El Paular. Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. de la Dirección General de Cooperación ӹӹ Cruz, L. 2012. National Plan for Cultural y Comunicación Cultural, por la que Landscape. Madrid: Ministerio de Educación, se da publicidad al Convenio de colaboración Cultura y Deporte Instituto del Patrimonio suscrito entre el Ministerio de Educación Cultural de España. Available at: y Cultura y la Comunidad de Madrid, http://ipce.mcu.es/pdfs/National_ para la restauración del real Monasterio Plan_Cultural_Landscape_EN.pdf de El Paular (Rascafría). BOE, No. 66, [accessed 15 December 2015]. 18 de marzo de 1998, pp. 9331-9332. ӹӹ Delgado López, F. 1998/1999. Juan de Baeza y las pinturas de Vicente Carducho en la cartuja del Paular. Locvs Amoenvs, Vol. 4, No. 185-200, pp. 186-200. ӹӹ Dürckheim, K. G. 1992. Experimentar la trascendencia. Barcelona: Ediciones Luciérnaga. ӹӹ Hernández Hernández, M. 2009. El Paisaje como Seña de Identidad Territorial: Valorización Social y Factor de Desarrollo, ¿Utopía o Realidad? Boletín de la A.G.E., No. 49, pp. 169-183. ӹӹ Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE). 2012. [Online]. Carta Iberoamericana del Paisaje. Recomendaciones propuestas en el encuentro de Cartagena de Indias. Available at: http://ipce.mcu.es/ pdfs/carta-iberoamericana-del-paisaje.pdf [accessed 15 December 2015]. ӹӹ Ortega Cantero, N. 2009. Paisaje e Identidad: La Visión de Castilla como Paisaje Nacional (1876-1936). Boletín de la A.G.E., No. 51, pp. 25-49.

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