Spain Tourism Guide - Spanish Art Architecture

Barcelona Art Picasso Museum Barcelona, Joan Miro Contemporary Art Barcelona National Gallery

Barcelona's cutting edge contemporary art gallery in the El Raval district consists of two buildings. The eye catching gleaming white structure on Placa del Angels designed by American architect Richard Meier and the Gothic Convent dels Angels chapel dating from the 15th century (no.7 Angels Street). The contemporary art collection held at the MACBA includes the best of both Catalan and Spanish contemporary art.

Art lovers will want to head to Barcelona's Montjuic area for sure. The extensive collection of Catalan art held at the Museu Nacional (MNAC) spans centuries, from the 10th to the 20th. This is one of Spain's best art galleries for medieval art, that is Romanesque and Gothic, so not to be missed. Highlights from 19th century Catalan art are numerous, from the etchings and magazine illustrations of Ramon Casas (1866-1932) to earlier works by Mariano Fortuny, who spent some time in Africa - note the huge panorama of 'La Batalla de Tetuan (1862-1864) by Fortuny, as well as Spanish Wedding (1868/9-70) and La Vicaria (1868-69). Fortuny tells epic narrative stories in his huge panoramas.

Barcelona's Picasso Museum is understandably one of the city's most visited attractions. More than 3500 of Picasso's paintings are held here in the permanent collection, making Barcelona's Picasso Museum one of if not the best collections of the artists' work. The popularity of the Picasso Museum means there are often queues - very long ones, all year round so like the Prado in Madrid, it's well worth getting here early (see Picasso Museum weblink right for opening times).

Celebrated 20th century Spanish artist Joan Miro was born in Barcelona in 1893, so the Fundacio Joan Miro is aptly placed here with Montjuic Park. The distinctive white angular building is the work of rationalist architect Joseph Lluis Sert who was responsible for a number of buildings associated with Miro including his studio and the Fundacio Pilar i Joan Miro/Miro Museum in Allorca's capital Palma (see weblink right). The Joan Miro Foundation here at Montjuic Barcelona is the big one, incredibly popular so expect queues and get there early if you can! Inside is the largest collection of Joan Miro's work on the planet - no wonder it's popular. 11,000 Miro pieces are in the collection and include paintings, ceramics, sculpture and graphic work. Miro donated most of the pieces to the gallery himself. Miro work on display spans his whole life from 'The Pedicure' (1901) to 'The Foundation Tapestry' (1979). Other artists are represented here, often in temporary exhibitions including Antoni Tapies and Jean Michel Basquiat.

Madrid Art - Prado Madrid, Thyssen, Reina Sofia Art Gallery Francisco Goya & Diego Velazquez

Madrid is a world centre for art, and not just the Spanish masters, Madrid is also an International Art centre. Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Picasso, Joan Miro and others are all here in Madrid's three famous art galleries which make up the now nicknamed Golden Art Triangle. Most popular is the Prado Museum for which there are understandable queues to get in daily - the world's best collection of Diego Velazquez, Francisco de Goya and El Greco paintings are in here. More contemporary Spanish master artists like Picasso have spent hours studying Velazquez and Goya in the Prado. Take a lesson from Picasso - the Prado is huge and demands several visits and many hours to appreciate the art gems in here.

Madrid's two other acclaimed art galleries - the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen Bornemisza can be overshadowed by the Prado, however they are equally superb for different reasons. Picasso's most famous work, and a huge panorama with intense political meaning - 'Guernica' is in Madrid's Reina Sofia gallery and naturally draws much attention. More Picasso paintings, alongside works by Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Gris and Gonzalez are also in the Reina Sofia which focuses on 19th century to the present art. Art at Madrid's third famous art gallery - the Thysson is eclectic indeed, reflexive of the fact that this was a private collection. Flemish, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo to Neoclassicism are all themes well covered in the collection. Surrealism, pop art and Modernism from both Europe and America are particularly well represented. You can expect to see plenty of Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer and Dali, alongside Picasso and Miro. The eclectic mix is the Thyssen's appeal, as you suddenly stumble on say Kurt Schwitters or Georgia O'Keeffe. Collections held in each of the three Madrid art galleries are comprehensively listed via their websites linked right.

Museo de Bellas Artes & IVAM - Art Galleries Valencia Museums Valencia Spain

Valencia has a huge number of museums and galleries, all listed extensively on the Valencia City webguide linked right. If you've just time for a few the Museo de Historia de Valencia, the Fine Arts Museum, the IVAM and the City of Arts and Sciences are where to head first. Valencia's Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum) sits just to the north of Valencia centre on the edge of the Turia Gardens. (nearest Metro Pont de Fusta/Blue Line 4). Housed in the historic San Pio V College dating from 1683, the venue was designed by the same architect who created Valencia's cathedral, Juan Bautista Perez Castiel. The art collection held here is extensive, including an exhibition of the Valencian Primitives from the 14th to 16th centuries - here you'll find work by Nicolau, Reixac and Jacomar.

As you'd expect here, Valencian artists are extensively represented including work by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Sorolla was born in Valencia, and his work is similar to that of Singer Sargent, but it's the distinctly Spanish light you see in his fine landscapes and social scenes, some of which are depictions of Valencia, for example 'Beach at Valencia (1908). Certainly influenced by Velazquez, Sorolla early on spent hours of study on the masters in the Prado during time spent in Madrid. Velazquez, El Greco and Goya are all represented here too at Valencia's superb Fine Arts Gallery. See weblink right for opening times.

Valencia's Contemporary art gallery is to the North west of the centre, easily walked (or cycle) to through Parque Jardin Del Turia from the Fine Arts Museum (or Metro to Turia and walk down). Established in 1984, contemporary art held here includes work by sculptor Julio Gonzalez and more work by Joaquin Sorolla as well as Pinazo. The photography collection here at the IVAM is a particular highlight. Checkout IVAM's weblink right for full listings and current temporary exhibitions.

Antoni Gaudi Biography, Gaudi Barcelona & Gaudi Museum Sagrada Familia

Although now closely associated with Barcelona for obvious reasons, Antoni Gaudi was born in 1852 in Reus near Tarragona. Influenced early on by nature and natural forms and shapes (which he later attempted to recreate in his structures), Gaudi studied architecture in Barcelona. Almost as soon as Gaudi had completed his training, commissions came his way mostly, as was to be the pattern from the Church and rich local industrialists. In Gaudi's case the Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph were to finally commission Gaudi with the Sagrada Familia building, and Barcelona rich industrialist and philanthropist Eusebi Guell who commissioned Gaudi for both Park Guell and Palau Guell. Numerous other commissions from wealthy bourgeois in Barcelona were to ensure Gaudi made his mark on this Spanish city.

Antoni Gaudi's thought, influences and themes are explored in-depth via the Gaudi Guide weblink right. Paramount to Gaudi's thought, and reflected in his work include high colour ornamentation, curved straight lines resisting limitations, the artist's work as monument, originality and the influence of nature from which all things come, parabold, synthesis and reason. (learn more via the weblink). Within the Sagrada Familia complex you can take the lift up one of the towers (get ready for the queues) and browse around the fascinating museum which displays numerous old photographs of the building of the Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi commissions such as Casa Batllo around Barcelona. Constructions of what the finished Sagrada will look like, plus Gaudi furniture designs and manuscripts and drawings are also in here.

Gaudi's legacy and influence on modern architecture is clear, and specific innovative architectural techniques first used by Gaudi are explored in the Sagrada Familia Gaudi museum. Architecturally speaking his work is ground-breaking, and numerous contemporary architects still allude to that fact.

Gaudi died in a Barcelona tram accident in 1926. The Nativity facade which he had started on the Sagrada Familia was completed 9 years later in 1935. A year later saw the beginning of the Spanish Civil war, with Barcelona a hotbed for anarchism and with huge numbers joining the CNT (Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo) against Franco. The destruction of Gaudi's manuscripts and plans for the Sagrada by the anarchists in 1936 is rarely put within the context of years of repression and abuse by the Catholic church, and the poverty, poor wages and living conditions of those working in the Barcelona factories as compared to the bourgeois who lavished commissions on Gaudi. Gaudi himself was a staunch Catholic and Nationalist.

Salvador Dali Theatre Museum Figueres, Salvador Dali's Home Cadaques & the Dali Triangle

"I want my museum to be like a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be a totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream". (Salvador Dali on the Dali Theatre Museum's creation, Figueres). The Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres, one of the highlights in the Northern Catalonia region, is a work of art in itself as Salvador Dali intended it to be. It's a tour of Dai's life, career and artistic work - a complete evolution of Dali himself as Antoni Ptxot and Montse Aguer suggest in their book on the Dali Theatre Museum well worth purchasing as the definitive guide and memory of your visit.

Prepare for a wowing of the senses even before you enter the Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres - the Diver in diving suit on the exterior walls is a symbol of immersion into the subconscious! You arrive through the Vestible straight into the spectacle of the Courtyard Garden welcomed by Art Deco giant gilded Oscar type mannequins, the Rainy Taxi - a Cadillac with Mannequin and chauffeur that floods with water on the inside intermittently, plus a mix of grotesque monster carvings and twisted sculptures on the walls and the looming statue of Queen Esther by the Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs. The Garden Courtyard, one of the most spectacular introductions to an art gallery you're ever likely to encounter, holds a particular fascination for visitors, especially kids who clamour round the flooding Rainy Taxis. Adjacent to the Courtyard is the old Municipal Theatre's main stage - look up to see Dali's amazing geodesic cupola glass dome roof which creates a different effect by night. A nod to the great Spanish architect Herrera, creator of El Escorial north of Madrid. From Dali's homage to North American actress Mae West in his 'Mae West Room' to the ceiling of the Palace of the Wind, you do indeed exit with a sense that you've just experienced a theatrical dream. See the Dali Theatre Museum/Dali Foundation's weblink right for more examples of pieces in the Dali collection held here at the Dali Theatre Museum Figueres.

Two other Salvador Dali important sites in the area include his houses at Pubol and Portlligat. House Museum Gala Dali Castel, Gala Square Pubol, E 17120 La Pera. Tel. (00 34 972 488 655). House Museum Salvador Dalia, Portlligat E-17489 Cadaques. Tel. 972 251 015.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, Valencia City of Arts and Sciences, Santiago Calatrava Buildings

Cities across Europe are developing leisure and entertainment complexes usually slightly out of the city centre, and inclusive or cutting edge contemporary design by some of the world's best architects. Here in Valencia is one of the best - the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias/City of Arts and Sciences. The architect responsible for the design of the spectacular Hemisferic housing an IMAX cinema and laser show and the Palau de les Artes Reina Sofia is Valencia's own Santiago Calatrava. Calatrava's architectural vision sits well with his other skills in engineering and urbanism. If you've visited Lisbon's Parque Das Nacoes leisure complex and Oriente Station, Tenerife's Santa Cruz Opera House, Murcia's Manrique Pedestrian bridge and Montjuic's communication tower in Barcelona you'll be familiar with Calatrava's work. Chosen as the architect for the new transportation terminal for New York's World Trade Center site, with completion date 2009, Calatrava has stated, "I feel a profound sense of responsibility, rather than any pressure. The memories, the sorrows and the hopes of a great many people are intrinsic to this project. Like everyone else involved in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, I want to do my utmost to honour these feelings". (see Santiago Calatrava's weblink right for more details on his work and architectural vision which continues to amaze).

There's no doubt that the City of Arts and Sciences has given Valencia a huge boost - tourist visitor numbers to this Spanish city have more than doubled in the last few years. Easily accessible of the motorway and situated south of the city, the Valencia Arts and Sciences complex is popular for day trips up from the Costa Blanca resorts (highly recommended as an excursion) and now as a Valencia city base. Numerous luxury leisure hotels surround the site, and the pretty Parque Jardin Del Turia runs north from the complex towards Valencia city centre and nearest metro Alameda. Regeneration is ongoing around the site, so be aware that you might encounter some roadworks/closed roads in the area. Ample underground parking is available on the site complex.

Pablo Picasso Museum Malaga

Just a short walk from Malaga's Cathedral, around Malaga's narrow old town streets sits Malaga's top draw, the Picasso Museum, and there is something extra special about viewing this large collection (some permanent, some temporary) in Picasso's birthplace. Born here in Malaga at Casa Natal in 1881, he moved to Northern Spain with his family at the age of nine. Like the Dali Museum in Figueres to the north, the Picasso Museum in Malaga is friendly and accessible. You almost stumble on it in Malaga's old town. The museum is housed in the 16th century Palacio de Buenavista, a superb setting noted for its Renaissance and Mudejar architecture.

The Picasso collection at Barcelona's Picasso Museum covers the full spectrum of Picasso's Paintings, through various periods - cubism, surrealism and blue and both paintings and sculpture are represented. Picasso's early work is particularly well represented including 'Olga Kokhlove con Mantilla' (Barcelona 1917) and 'Retrato de Paulo con gorro blanco (Paris, 1923). More realist are these two works, but it's all in the eyes!

The Picasso Museum's website (see right) guides you through the collection online - well worth a browse before a visit, as well as for checking on temporary changing exhibitions. See also the chronology of his life on this website, plus further Pablo Picasso biography and Picasso paintings/works listings on the Picasso Foundation and Picasso Journal's websites right.