The home of the industrialist chocolatier Antoni Amatller is one of the greatest examples of the Catalan modernist architecture and one of the few that still have the ornamental richness of this style promoted by the bourgeoisie. Located on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, it is the work of the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch who was commissioned to remodel the building, acquired by the industrialist, from head to foot.
The Casa Amatller stands out for the composition of the façade and for the restructuring and redecoration of the ground floor and the main floor, a reflection of the originality of the modernista architecture and decorative arts. The façade is a colourful composition that incorporates sgraffito on a white base, ochre and red ochre, glazed tiles, green woodwork, black wrought iron and grey stone from Montjuïc. In addition, there is unique sculptural decoration, notable for the relief of St. George and the Dragon, designed by Eusebi Arnau. The tiered gable at the top of the façade is reminiscent of the classic shape of a tablet of chocolate and is one of the most characteristic features of the building. Inside, one must admire the antique furniture, the columns, the floor, the ceilings and the lamps, original decoration of the residence.
Currently, the Casa Amatller is home to the Amatller Institute of Hispanic Art. It has about 400 objects of Roman, Medieval, Baroque and Modernista periods. But above all it is noted for its documentary resources. It maintains a large photo library specialising in Hispanic art, with about 350,000 items illustrating and cataloguing the works of art. Its consultation is essential for any researcher in the history of the art.
In this small valley in the Pyrenees there are a group of exceptional churches and chapels which stand as both the cradle and the ultimate expression of Catalan Romanesque art. Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2000, the Vall de Boí group comprise Sant Climent and Santa Maria in Taüll, Sant Joan in Boí, Santa Eulàlia in Erill la Vall, Sant Feliu in Barruera, Sant Quirc and Church of the Nativity in Durro, Santa Maria in Cardet and the Church of the Assumption in Coll. All the churches can be visited except for Sant Quirc in Durro, and the Church of the Assumption in Coll.
In the Lombard Romanesque style, the churches of the Vall de Boí are functional, simple temples with one or three naves, built with small granite ashlars. The roofs are wooden-beamed or barrel-vaulted. And these churches are the artistic reflection of an austere society, tied to the natural environment and strongly hierarchical.
The interiors of the churches were decorated with mural paintings and carvings. The hieratic figures (with images of the Virgin and the Saints and the dominant figure of the Pantocrator) and the play of colours characterise symbolic paintings of great creativity which represent one of the highest achievements of Romanesque art at an international level.
Since the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, this Romanesque group fascinated the intellectuals of the Catalan Renaixença. Josep Puig i Cadafalch, among others, and institutions such as the Institute of Catalan Studies contributed to the appreciation and preservation of the art of the Pyrenees.
Today, a good many of the paintings, carvings and furniture are kept in different museums, particularly in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC). Even so, many of the churches have important fragments of mural paintings and original Romanesque sculptures, as well as reproductions of those which are preserved in museums. In the case of Sant Climent de Taüll, a modern mapping recreates the original frescoes of the apse and offers an immersive experience of what it was like at the time of its creation. At the same time, a visit to this group of churches can be complemented with a visit to the Romanesque Centre of the Vall de Boí.
The work of Antoni Gaudí is the most important example of modernista architecture, the artistic movement that extended from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Gaudí, the brilliant architect and artist, made a very personal interpretation of Modernisme, with architectural, decorative and spatial techniques full of creative freedom and innovation.
Park Güell, the Palau Güell and the Casa Milà were declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. Sixteen years later, five more works were included which make up a collection that is representative of the essence and the evolution of the work of Antoni Gaudí. Thus, the works declared a World Heritage Site are: the Park and the Palau Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Vicenç, the Façade of the Nativity and the Crypt of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló and the crypt of the Colònia Güell.
Gaudí was a complete artist, who conceived architecture as a complete work of art, in which it is not just buildings that are important but also all the interior details. Heir to a certain way of thinking from figures such as Ruskin, Morris or Viollet-le-Duc, Gaudí in turn became an inspiration for future artists such as Le Corbusier and Dalí.
The work of Antoni Gaudí is concentrated fundamentally in Catalonia, although he worked also in other places such as Comillas (Cantabria), Astorga and León (Castilla y León) and Palma de Mallorca.
His creations are framed within the context of Modernisme and the Renaixença, cultural movements that took place within the modernity and progress of the period, but which also included strong feelings towards tradition and identity.
Contemporary art in Barcelona is MACBA. The Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona stands at the heart of the Catalan capital in a Richard Meier building that is itself a work of art. It is located in touching distance of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), an reference point for lovers of 20th and 21st century art and culture.
MACBA, which was started in 1995, has established itself internationally as a model in contemporary art. Its collection of 5,500 works, allows a journey to be traced through the main artistic references of today. Beginning with materic abstraction from the 1950s, incorporating works of the European pop art and of the avant-garde of the 1960s and '70s. There are also works around the photographic figurative representation and minimalist sculpture.
Among the most important pieces you can see: Dins el roig, by Albert Ràfols-Casamada; Between the Frames: The Forum, by Antoni Muntadas; La saison des pluies II, by Miquel Barceló; Rinzen, by Antoni Tàpies; Beschwingte Bindungen, by Paul Klee; Thames Circles, by Richard Long, and Atomic Kiss, by Joan Rabascall, among others.
The Palau de la Generalitat, located in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, is one of the few buildings of medieval origin in Europe that have been maintained as a seat of Government and for the same institution for which it was built.
The original house, on Carrer Sant Honorat, was acquired in 1400 and during the 15th century it was expanded and converted into a new gothic palace, the work of Marc Safont. Among the best preserved elements from this period are the Gothic Gallery and the Chapel of Sant Jordi.
During the 16th century, the Palau de la Generalitat grew with a new part which respected the previous Gothic style such as the Cambra Daurada (Golden Chamber) and the first Pati dels Tarongers(courtyard planted with orange trees). The most radical changes came with the extension towards the Plaça Sant Jaume (1597-1619): the current main façade was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and there are four Doric columns of Roman origin dating from the 2nd century.
The last major changes in the building happened in the period of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, the Catalan Commonwealth, (1914-1925): items such as the staircase of honour and the equestrian statue of Sant Jordi were added. Notable from the 1970s is the acquisition of more than a hundred pieces of modern, avant-garde and contemporary art by artists such as Montserrat Gudiol, Josep Maria Subirachs, Antoni Clavé, Joan Hernández Pizjuán, and Antoni Tàpies.
Built in 1847 on the Rambla of Barcelona, the Gran Teatre del Liceu was converted from its beginnings into a symbol of the emerging bourgeoisie of Barcelona and Catalonia.
The origin of the Liceu must be situated in the "Liceo Filarmónico Dramático Barcelona de SM la Reina Isabel II" (Barcelona Dramatic and Philharmonic Lyceum of HM Queen Isabel II), an organisation created to fill the need for a music conservatory in the city. The success of the initiative resulted in the construction of a new theatre, which was financed through commercial efforts: the boxes and seats were owned.
In its more than 150 years of history, it has seen three tragic events: the fire of 1861, the anarchist bomb of 1893, and the devastating fire of 1994. The last reconstruction, which lasted five years, has modernised the building, retaining as much as possible of its original essence. Notable is the Hall of Mirrors and its decoration of gilded and polychrome plaster mouldings.
With 2,292 seats, it is currently one of the largest opera houses in the world, and each year puts on more than forty opera performances, as well as dance, recitals, concerts and children's shows.
There are several institutions and archives that preserve the photographic heritage of Catalonia. One of the most important collections is that of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, with 750,000 images of hiking and mountaineering, but also featuring the artistic and architectural heritage and daily life throughout the country. For its volume and variety, also notable is the collection of the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya with nearly 800,000 photographs.
In the Biblioteca de Catalunya there are photographic documents 250,000 archived, ranging from the mid-19th century to the present day. One of the stand outs is the Josep Salvany collection with 10,000 images of Catalan landscapes and popular culture.
The history of photography, from its beginnings up to the more contemporary production, is what informs the collection of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, with 40,000 examples from notable photographers such as Pere Casas Abarca, Agustí Centelles, Pere Català Pic, Francesc Català Roca, Colita, Joan Fontcuberta, Pere Formiguera, Oriol Maspons, Kim Manresa, Josep Masana and Joan Colom. The MACBA also has, for example, the bequest of Xavier Miserachs.
And for its part, in the personal collections of the Arxiu Nacional de Catalunya one can find works of photographers such as Josep Gaspar, els Brangulí, Gabriel Casas i Galobardes, Bert i Claret or Frederic Cuyàs.
At the end of the 19th century in Europe, images which, until then, had been static, came to life thanks to the invention of cinematography. Catalonia did not remain on the sidelines. In 1897, Fructuoso Gelabert filmed Baralla en un Cafè (Fight in a café), which is considered the first fictional film in the history of Catalan and Spanish cinema.
From this point on, many other films have become a watershed in the evolution of the ‘seventh art’ in Catalonia. Of these was one of the key films of surrealist cinematography, Un chien andalou (1928), which was the result of an intense week spent by Luis Buñuel in Cadaqués with Salvador Dalí. As well, Montserrat is the main setting for filming of the blockbuster Parisfal (Daniel Mangrané, 1951).
During the Civil War, Espoir/Sierra de Teruel (André Malraux, 1938) became a valuable document on the activity of the Republican side, although it wasn’t released until 1978. In the midst of Francoism, Los Tarantos (Rovira Beleta, 1963) is a raw testimony about the urban fringes. And the period of the Spanish ‘transition’ cannot be understood without La ciutat cremada, The Burnt City, (Antoni Ribas, 1976).
In addition to the film production one must also take into account the preservation of this heritage. One of the main Catalan institutions dedicated to preservation and dissemination of such films is the Filmoteca de Catalunya, with a collection that includes more than 8,000 films and that has a regular programme of screenings. With regard to alternative and experimental cinema, the benchmark is the Xcèntric Archive of the CCCB. There is also the Girona Museum of Cinema, which displays close to 8,000 pieces of equipment and pre-cinematographic objects of the Tomàs Mallol collection.
The Catalan culture cannot be understood without all the fantastic facilities of Barcelona. This setting has become the backbone of the country's culture.
The Palau de la Música, the work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner and a Unesco World Heritage site, is much more than a refined example of modernista architecture. The witness to key episodes in Catalan history, it has become a reference point for Catalans.
Sharing centre stage as a symbol of the Catalan culture is the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Built in 1847, and linked from the beginning to the bourgeoisie of Barcelona, this building has survived two catastrophic episodes: an anarchist bomb in 1893 and a fire in 1994.
Among the modern facilities for the performing arts the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, the Teatre Lliure and the Mercat de les Flors stand out. In the musical field, beyond the examples of the Palau de la Música and Liceu, is the L’Auditori of Barcelona. Regarding the visual arts, the main institutions are the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), which offers a global and historical perspective of Catalan art, and the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), offering a showcase of the most up-to-date art.
From the early daguerreotype to current media and distribution channels, Catalan photography has been at the forefront of a revolution lasting a little less than two centuries.
Months after the daguerreotype appeared in France (1839), Ramon Alabern became the first Catalan to take pictures with this new invention. Soon after, photographers such as José Martínez Sánchez and Juan Martí, bore witness to the Industrial Revolution.
At the end of the 19th century, the first Catalan artistic photographers appeared (Joan Vilatobà, Miquel Renom and Pere Casas Abarca), approaching Symbolism and Impressionism, while the second generation followed Pictorialism (Joaquim Pla and Claudi Carbonell). The Avant-gardism also came to Catalan photography, and the work of professionals such as Pere Català Pic and Gabriel Casas meant an artistic and technical revolution.
It was not until the 1950s that tradition of documentary photography was reawoken. A new generation (Francesc Català Roca, Ramon Masats, Xavier Miserachs, Oriol Maspons, Joan Colom, Leopoldo Pomés, Colita and Eugeni Forcano) showed reality both critically and ironically.
In the seventies and eighties, the dissemination and cultural prestige of the photograph increased, finally reaching the museums. With the arrival of the digital era, its use was further democratised.
