Plastic and visual arts

The visit to the Girona City History Museum starts with a look at the building itself. It is a Gothic mansion (15th century) owned by the Cartellà family, which became the Capuchin convent of Sant Antoni in the 18th century. The cemetery, the cistern and the cloister have been preserved from this time. At the end of the 19th century it was converted into a school and finally, in 1981, it was transformed into a museum. In addition, it houses the remains of the wall of the ancient Gerunda and part of the enclosure of the medieval Cal or Jewish quarter.

In all, a journey through the history of Girona which already indicates what the visitor will find on display inside: a chronological journey through the Roman, medieval, modern and contemporary Girona that is completed with a look at various Catalan traditions such as the cobla and the sardana.

Among the most notable exhibits are: the fragment of the pavement mosaic of Can Pau Birol, from 300 AD; the bronze sculpture of the Angel from the Cathedral of Girona, made in 1764 by Ramon Salvatella; modernista and noucentista works by the sculptors, Fidel Aguilar and Ricard Guinó; and posters of political events from the Transition to Democracy in Girona, among other items.

The Museum also manages the air-raid shelter of the Jardí de la Infància, from the Civil War, and the modernista branch of the Agència Gómez.

One of the consequences of the French Revolution was the birth of nationalism throughout Europe. Catalonia did not remain on the sidelines and, in the mid-19th century, the Renaixença began, a cultural movement whose aim was to make Catalan a language of literature and culture and, at the same time, to exalt the history of Catalonia and the idea of patriotism.

Within this context, the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (Hiking Centre of Catalonia) was formed in 1890 in Barcelona. The founding objective was "to promote excursions around our region in order to make it better known and appreciated, and also to publish papers resulting from these excursions, creating a library and archive". And what better way, in the late 19th century, of documenting these outings than through photography.

The Centre Excursionista collected such a large amount of material that a Photographic Archive had to be created, situated on Carrer Paradís in Barcelona. Currently, it has more than 100 collections (400,000 images) from private donations and bequests. The themes are varied: in addition to landscapes of Catalonia and mountain activities, there are photographs of archaeology, caving, water sports, cycling, boxing, etc. The whole archive is an important historical legacy of Catalonia of the 19th and 20th centuries.

At the same time, the Archive also shows the technical evolution of photography. There are collodion glass plates from the 1860s, silver bromide gelatin plates from the late 19th century, nitrates, stereoscopic plates and autochromes. Also preserved is historical photographic equipment such as cameras, tripods, laboratory instruments and light meters.

You can discover the history of Tortosa in one of the most significant buildings of the city. This is the old abattoir, a modernista work by the architect Pau Monguió, built on land reclaimed from the River Ebro. In 2012, on the centenary of the Museum of Tortosa it was moved and advantage was taken of the pavilions to display a completely renovated Museum project.

The museum has a collection of more than 4,000 pieces among which include prehistoric flint tools, Roman funerary stones, Andalusian pottery, Gothic capitals, signs of flooding, the tools of one of the last potters of Tortosa, and paintings and sculpture by artists from Tortosa, among others.

The tour of the permanent exhibition provides information on the history of Tortosa and its surrounding regions, from the prehistoric times to the present day. Remains from Ilercavonia, Dertosa or Turtuxa are displayed. You can see the most representative pieces from each historical period from the museum’s own collection and from other museums that have made loans to the collection, such as the Prado Museum, the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia), the National Archaeolgical Museum of Tarragona and the Museu de les Terres de l’Ebre. The contemporary work of the artist Leonardo Escoda interacts obliquely with the space and the content of the museum.

The idea of creating a museum in Valls goes back to 1909. From that time onwards, it has received donations and loans from patrons such that it now holds a collection of over a thousand works of Catalan art from the last 120 years, considered one of the best in Catalonia.

Located in the Casa de Cultura since 1970, its premises were completely refurbished in 1993. Taking a chronological journey through the collection, there are examples of Realism (F. Galofré Oller, Josep Marqués, Baldomer Galofré) and Modernism and Impressionism (Isidre Nonell, Eliseu Meifrén, Enric Galwey, Joan Llimona, Francesc Vayreda) and Noucentisme (Joaquim Sunyer, Enric Casanovas). One of the jewels of the museum is the collection of paintings, sculptures and jewellery by Manolo Hugué, linked to the early avant-garde.

The museum also has a good representation of the post-war artists (Josep M. Mallol Suazo, Josep Amat, Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Brossa, Apel·les Fenosa, Modest Cuixart).

Notable is its photography collection, thanks to the loan made in 1998 by the photographer Francesc Català-Roca. It is completed with works by Pere Català Pic, Pere Català Roca, Colita, Xavier Miserachs, Leopoldo Pomés and Oriol Maspons.

In addition to the art collection, the Museum of Valls also holds an important archaeological collection focused on the Iberian world, available to researchers, and an ethnographic collection of the castellera (human towers) which will become part of the future Museu Casteller de Catalunya (Human Tower Museum of Catalonia).

To understand what the twentieth century meant at an artistic level for the western regions of Catalonia, you should visit the Museu d'Art Jaume Morera, dedicated to modern and contemporary art in Lleida. Various artistic disciplines are represented here: painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing, print-making, graphic design, photography, video and even comics, with a clear predominance of local artists.

Opened in 1917 in the former Sant Lluís market, it is currently located in the Casino Principal building in Lleida pending the construction of its new headquarters. The painter Jaume Morera i Galícia, who donated his art collection and acted as patron, played a very prominent role in the initial tasks of putting together the museum's art collection. In gratitude for his collaboration, the Museum was named after him.

The collection ranges from the turn of the nineteenth century up to the present day: from Baldomer Gili, Xavier Gosé and Santiago Rusiñol to Joan Brossa and Albert Bayona. One of the most important parts of the collection, however, concerns the Avant-garde of the 1930s, in which pride of place is given to 190 works by the sculptor Leande Cristòfol such as De l’aire a l’aire (From Air to the Air, 1933) or Nit de lluna (Night of the Moon, 1935).

The landscapes of Garrotxa have been a source of inspiration for several generations of artists, as a visit to this museum makes clear. Located on the third floor of the eighteenth century hospital building, the Museum of Garrotxa (Olot) displays the artistic activity of the region between the late eighteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, placing the main emphasis on the Olot landscape school of painting. This movement from the second half of the nineteenth century, led by the siblings Joaquim and Marià Vayreda and Josep Berga i Boix, introduced the model of the Barbizon school of landscape painting to Catalan art.

Works by local artists such as Miquel Blay, Josep Clarà, Ramon Amadeu, Josep Berga i Boada, Melcior Domenge, Iu Pasqual, Francesc Vayreda, Xavier Nogués, Leonci Quera, Josep Pujol, Xavier Gosé and Laureà Barrau, among others, form part of the museum's collection.

The collection is completed with the presence of artists from outside the region, mainly from the turn of the 19th century, such as Enric Galwey, Joan Llimona, Joan Brull, Joaquim Mir and Ramon Casas, who is given pride of a place in the museum and whose painting La càrrega (The Charge), a large canvas which, at the time, was very controversial, has been in the museum’s collection since 1919. Also noteworthy is the collection of Modernista posters.

In 2016, the permanent exhibition was expanded with the donation of 13 works from the MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) by artists who were influenced by the Olot landscape painting school, such as Rafel Benet, Ramon Martí Alsina and Modest Urgell, which allows a more comprehensive reading of the museum collection to be made.

From the 1960s, the Diputació (Provincial Council) of Tarragona had been acquiring a significant artistic collection which was not open for public viewing. So, in 1976, they created the Museum of Modern Art, whose purpose was to promote the study and knowledge of the modern and contemporary art and, at the same time, to preserve and display these collections.

The original location chosen was Casa Martí, an 18th century stately home located in the upper part of Tarragona. In 2008, the museum renewed its permanent exhibition and opened a new, more modern and educational museum project.

The museum devotes some rooms to the Taller - Escola de Pintura i Escultura (Workshop - School of Painting and Sculpture) which the Republican Government built in Tarragona and the subsequent Escola Taller d’Art de la Diputació de Tarragona (Workshop and School of Art of the Provincial Council of Tarragona). Also exhibited are works by contemporary artists of the 1980s from the region, such as Bruno Gallart or James Solé.

One of the most important collections of the museum is the legacy left by the sculptor Julio Antonio. In the permanent exhibition, you can see various facets of his work, placing emphasis on the Monument als Herois de 1811 (Monument to the Heroes of 1811), located on the Rambla Nova in Tarragona. Other representatives of the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century, such as Joseph Tapiró, are also on display.

However, the most renowned work in the Museum of Modern Art in Tarragona bears the signature of Joan Miró. This is the Tapís de Tarragona (Tapestry of Tarragona), a large-scale project that the painter made together with Josep Royo. In 1970, Miró gave this tapestry to the Hospital de la Cruz Roja in Tarragona, then directed by Rafael Orozco, in thanks for the care this doctor gave to his daughter. When the institution was closed down, the work was given over to the Museum where it occupies a place of honour.

The painter Josep Guinovart i Bertran, the greatest representative of informalism, spent much of the Civil war in Agramunt, the home town of his mother. He was then about 9 or 10 years old. To escape the bombardments, he lived with his family in a hut in a field. Despite the fact that he returned to Barcelona in 1941, this experience brought him closer to nature and to the rural environment that influenced his work and connected him forever to the municipality. So much so that in 1990 the artist wanted to create a centre for the creation and promotion of contemporary art in Agramunt: the Espai Guinovart.

It was inaugurated in 1994 and is housed in an old market building from the 1930s. The side porches, where the stalls were located, have been preserved. They have now been converted into galleries to display the Foundation’s Collection on a rotating basis. The large central space, formerly occupied by open stalls, now houses the Mural de les quatre estacions (Mural of the Four Seasons) and two installations: La cabana (The Hut) and L’era (The Threshing Floor).

These three works were conceived especially for the Espai Guinovart. They are centred around Agramunt, the territory, its landscape and its people. From the imagination centred on the locality, a universal vision is created that deals with themes such as the cycle of life or the habitat in relation to nature.

This medieval building is the gift Dalí gave to Gala, his wife and muse. The Gala Dalí Castle house-museum in Púbol, open to the public since 1996, both encapsulates the relationship between the two lovers and, at the same time, allows the creative talent of the artist to be discovered in all sorts of decorative details.
 
In 1969, Salvador Dalí acquired the castle of the Barony of Púbol, a fortification from the 14th-15th century that was in a very poor state, but which had a captivating mysterious and romantic appearance. The artist himself personally took charge of the interior décor, creating pictorial representations on the walls and ceilings and faux architectural features. He gave the rooms antiques, Baroque textiles and romantic symbols, creating a sombre and sensitive atmosphere, designed as a refuge for his wife.
 
The whole building celebrates the cult of Gala, almost as if she were a feudal Lady. The couple even agreed that Dalí would not visit unless he had received an invitation from her in writing.
 
In the 1980s, the castle was transformed into Salvador Dalí’s last studio. Nowadays, one can see the paintings and drawings that Dalí gave Gala, sculptures of long-legged elephant sculptures in the garden and a collection of haute couture dresses. However, one of the most important elements is undoubtedly the mausoleum in the basement, designed by the painter, where Gala was buried, the Lady of the Castle.
 
The Gala Dalí Castle in Púbol forms, together with Salvador Dalí's House in Portlligat and the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, the ‘Dalí triangle’ of Empordà.

"Everything I know I learned in Horta" said an already established Pablo Picasso about his relationship with the village of the Terra Alta. These emotional and artistic links have been on display at the Centre Picasso since 1992.
 
Based in the Old Hospital of Horta de Sant Joan, a Renaissance building from the 16th century, this private organisation permanently exhibits facsimile reproductions of all works made by the painter from Malaga in his two visits to the town, in 1898 (invited by his friend Manuel Pallarès to convalesce after an illness) and in the summer of 1909 (accompanied by his girlfriend, Fernande Olivier). Also displayed are works evoking Horta that were made in Barcelona and Paris. In this way, the Centre allows works from two stages (his beginnings and Cubism) to be seen side-by-side which are otherwise currently distributed in museums and collections around the world.
 
The exhibition is complemented by objects, photographs and testimonials that illustrate Picasso’s time in the village, such as the table and the chairs from the bar where Picasso and Fernande played dominoes, chatted and drank Anís del Mono, or the easel the artist used during his stay at the Llotja de Barcelona.