Lines with art: Line 7: History, illustrious figures and great muralists meet on the orange line

Avenida de la Ilustración

We begin our tour in the north of the line, at Avenida de la Ilustración station, where a mural painted by Ramón Molina in 1999 awaits. On a uniform red background, large stone-finished pieces are arranged in two sets. The work can be found on the middle level of the station, a location where the viewer can observe it from different perspectives as he or she travels on the escalators.

Francos Rodríguez

At Francos Rodríguez station, a large mural by Esther Pizarro and Mónica Gener pays homage to José Francos Rodríguez, former mayor of Madrid, journalist and president of the Madrid Press Association, as well as doctor and writer. Fun fact: during his second term as mayor of Madrid, construction began on Metro line 1 and the most famous street in Madrid, Gran Vía.

Canal

We continue on to Canal station, which has been converted into a prelude to the nearby theatres that give it its name through a number of plastic strips devoted to the performing arts. They feature infographics, photographs and quotes from more than 30 great artists in disciplines as varied as music, theatre, dance and poetry.

Gregorio Marañón

The decoration of Gregorio Marañón is devoted to this famous doctor and writer and consists of several murals by Esther García Ocampo, the same artist who pays homage to women in La Elipa.

Specifically, on platform 1 of L7, a full-length portrait of Gregorio Marañón describes what it meant to him to be a doctor, a profession he defines as "devoting one's life to the chosen mission". On the other hand, on platform 2 of L10, the artist breaks down several aspects of her life and work, with an emphasis on her relationship with Toledo.

The vault of the hall is presided over by a colourful mural created by the S. Benito de Alcántara Foundation which represents the Alcántara bridge using simple geometric shapes in bright colours, and in the vestibule another mural shows Gregorio Marañón as a humanist reading in his library office.

Avenida de América

Our artistic tour now takes us to the main hall of the Avenida de América station, where we can contemplate an impressive mosaic inspired by the arrival of Christopher Columbus, on 12 October 1492, on the island of Guanahaní, in the Antilles archipelago, which shortly afterwards was baptised with the name of San Salvador.

Cartagena

At Cartagena station, we are greeted by a ceramic mural by one of the artists who has worked most extensively in Metro de Madrid, Eladio García de Santibáñez, who has a significant presence on L7. Dating from the 1970s, it is a disjointed and complex work, which immediately captures the passenger's attention with its forms and forcefulness.

Parque de las Avenidas

Eladio García de Santibáñez is also the author of the mural that decorates the hall of the Avenida de Bruselas in the Parque de las Avenidas station. In this case, it is a large-format piece made up of large pieces of enamelled ceramic material.

Barrio de la Concepción

And by the same artist is the mural in the Martínez Villergas hall in Barrio de la Concepción, in this case also a large-format piece in which different urban elements can be distinguished.

Pueblo Nuevo

On the other hand, at Pueblo Nuevo station, in the Emilio Ferrari hall, we can enjoy a seafaring scene, with fishing boats and oars, dominated by the blue colour of the sea. This is a mural by Ángel Atienza, another of the essential signatures in Metro de Madrid's art collection, in which the profile of a large ship can be glimpsed, with its chimneys and decks, and the chiaroscuro of the inner city.

Ascao

We now continue to Ascao station. In its hall there is a striking longitudinal composition in ceramic material with interlaced and interwoven forms on a background of clay tiles. The work dates from 1973 and is by José Luis Fernández.

Las Musas

And by Eladio García de Santibáñez is also the mural that decorates the main hall of Las Musas, a glazed ceramic work in his characteristic abstract style in which some of the attributes representing the nine Muses of Greek mythology can be glimpsed.

Coslada Central

Entering line 7B, the murals with large photographs of clouds and the blue skies of Madrid decorating the platforms of Coslada Central seem to invite us to reach the top. It is a work by Raúl Díaz Reyes, a member of the Estudio Franja Fotográfica, and is made from hundreds of photographs taken in different parts of the region.

San Fernando

Finally, at San Fernando station, a mural by Ubaldo Cristóbal Serrano depicts on a large backlit screen the building of the Real Fábrica de Paños, the current seat of the Town Hall of San Fernando de Henares, built in the mid-18th century. In this piece, the original photograph of the building is broken down into large pieces that are reassembled to form a collage.

Are you still hungry for more? Don't miss our cultural guide, where you can discover some of the most interesting art in the Metro de Madrid.

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