Barcelona ...An artist's paradise

There are certain trips that make your heart smile like a small child. There are certain places blessed with never-ending charm. I can picture myself walking again in those narrow multi cultural artistic, beautifully decorated streets. One can feel home in Barcelona, one can feel free to be who he wants.

I do not think it is random that Barcelona is home to so many great artists. It is more than just a city and almost no part of it can be described as average. Some of these artists just spent a few years in the city, while others spent their entire lives. One thing they all had in common, though, was their love for Catalonia.

Pablo Picasso

Picasso was born in the coastal city of Malaga in southern Spain, and as a young man Picasso divided his time between Barcelona and Paris, the continent’s other great and art-filled city. Picasso experimented with the cubist style and became friends with legendary figures in the art world like Gertrude Stein and Henri Matisse.

In Barcelona one can visit the Museu Picasso in El Born to see an excellent selection of Picasso’s artwork. The museum is open daily and it’s free after 3 pm on Sundays.

Museu Picasso is a great place to learn about this Spanish master.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was born in the small Catalonian town of Figueres, 120 km north of Barcelona. He was a pioneer of surrealist art and was widely known for his portrayals of melting clocks.

Barcelona is not often mentioned in the context of Dali, but his frequent trips to the city as a youth are said to have inspired his interest in art. Salvador Dali’s works can be seen in Barcelona at the Permanent Dali Exhibition in El Gotic. This museum is quite small, but it does have a good variety of his work.

Museum Dali, in the small town of Figueres, is a surrealist masterpiece.

Joan Miró

One of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century, Joan Miró, like Salvador Dali, was known for his surrealist style. In this style the painter tries to paint with his subconscious and the result is often a colorful blend of shapes and icons that take upon an almost magical significance.

Burnt Canvas I, part of a series by Miro in protest of Franco's Spain.

Miró was born in Barcelona’s El Gotic neighborhood and many of his early paintings are representative of Catalonian life. In Barcelona the Joan Miró Foundation is the place to see the painter’s masterpieces. It houses over 14,000 pieces of art and it is the largest Miró collection in the world. Admission is €10 and the museum is located in Montjuic Park. More of Miró’s works can be found at the Contemporary Art Museum in El Raval, alongside the works of other Spanish and Catalonian contemporary artists.

Anton Gaudi

'' God's architect''

There are a host of things that make Barcelona such a beautiful city, but it wouldn’t be nearly the city it is today without the architectural designs of Antoni Gaudí, an architect so highly regarded that he was nicknamed “God’s Architect” and received calls for beatification upon his death.Antoni Gaudí was born in rural Catalonia in 1852 and moved to Barcelona when he was just 16 years old. It didn’t take long for him to realize his calling and Gaudí soon embarked upon a career as an architect. below are some of his divine masterpieces, which will be host in future posts separately.