Art in Barcelona

The history of Spanish Art

Barcelona is a diverse city. It has its own history, culture, growing industries, a famous soccer team, in other words, a city that everybody must visit. 

The history of Spain includes also the history of Spanish art. Among the diversity of its culture we can find great exponents of the Spanish art that have great renown worldwide. The main representative art of Barcelona is the architecture. Barcelona is the birthplace of the modernism in architecture, with Antoní Gaidí as the main exponent. Antoní Gaudí was born in Catalonia and his best works are located in Barcelona. Some of his best known works are the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, Bodegas Güell, Casa Calvet and many others; some of these works have been considered as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. 

The modernism movement

There are other representatives of the Barcelona art. Also an architect, there is Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who was the disciple of Luis Domenech Montaner, another great architect of the modernism movement. Those two architects were very well known in their times and were in charge of the design of many of the buildings in the city. Modernism in architecture was undervalued during the first half of the 20th century, but that style got its recognition back on the second half of the century and since then it just has growth. The works of these artists are some of the places where to go in Barcelona.

But art in Barcelona is not only about architecture. Some of the most well-known artists of the history of the world create their best work in Barcelona. Let’s take for instance the great Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Isidre Nonel, Ramon Casas, Joan Miró and Adriá Gual.

Barcelona Museums

Barcelona has many museums, a big part is dedicated to art. First we have the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, located in the district of Ciutat Vella, is a museum dedicated to show the art of the second half of the 20th century. They show Barcelonan and Spanish art as well as International art. 

The National Art Museum of Catalonia is another big museum with a wonderful permanent collection that includes Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern art; photography, drawing and numismatics. It was constructed in 1920 and it took three years to be finished. The museum is located in Barcelona city; in a hill named Montjuïc.

Finally, the Museu Picasso, located also in the district of Ciutat Vella, it’s a much visited museum that contains the work of the great artist Pablo Picasso. Through its many collections it has compiled the work of the artist during all of his lifetime. 

Spanish language 

Barcelona, as many cities in Spain, doesn’t have any signs posted in English. Also, Spanish people are not likely to learn English, so if you don’t want to get lost or miss anything important, it might be a good idea to bring a Spanish language guide and also learn something about Spanish numbers.

If you are looking forward to a visit Barcelona you can check our Barcelona tourist guide.