Park Güell

No work by Gaudí better encapsulates the complete and perfect harmony of nature and architecture than Barcelona’s Park Güell. Initially designed as an English-style garden-city – hence the name Park – it eventually became Barcelona’s most unusual public park.

Gaudí’s unfinished urbanistic dream, listed UNESCO World Heritage in 1984. The most ambitious urban planning operation of Barcelona in the late 19th century was idea of Gaudí’s main patron, Eusebi Güell, who in 1899 bought an old rural estate of 15 hectares called Can Muntaner de Dalt for conversion into a luxury garden city inspired in Ebenezer Howard’s model (and so the name was -and still is- spelt the English way: “Park”, as opposed to “Parc”, in Catalan). Predictably, the person entrusted with carrying out Güell’s landscape planning scheme was Antoni Gaudí. 

Gaudí’s project involved the construction of a housing estate of 60 private plots and large common greens. Gaudí devised the idea of a bucolic retreat for the highest bourgeoisie of Barcelona. Its location on the hillside and far from the city was ideal to symbolise the metaphor of the ascent to paradise, to Eden. The project, however, was a total failure. Development of the estate began between 1900 and 1904 and was definitively halted in 1914. One plot was purchased by the owner of the construction company developing the works, and two more plots were sold to a single purchaser, who had only one villa built. 

As for the common facilities, three crosses were built to mark the place where the chapel was to be erected, but only the two entrance pavilions, the retaining walls and all the road infrastructure around a large square supported by columns were completed. As a result of this financial disaster, the heirs of Eusebi Güell, who died in 1918, sold the site to the City Council, and it was decided to preserve it as a public park. The prodigious structures raised among the typical Mediterranean vegetation are a curious mixture of fantasy and spirituality, which the staunch patriot Gaudí interspersed with Catalan emblems. A work where Gaudí boldly chose a language of his own ranging from naturally-inspired forms to a surprisingly avant-garde plasticity.

The main gate of Park Güell, featuring a brick wall decorated with mosaics, is protected by a wrought iron railing and flanked by two evocative pavilions that reproduce the story of Hansel and Gretel, which was performed as an opera at the Liceu in late 1900, the same period Gaudí began to design the Park Güell. The smaller one on the left with a double cross on the roof, is the house of the children Hansel and Gretel: it currently has a bookshop and souvenir shop on the ground floor. 

The house on the right, crowned by a poisonous toadstool-shaped dome, represents the Witch’s dwelling -interestingly, it was meant to be the house of the Park’s guard. It now houses the Interpretation Centre of the Park, part of the Barcelona History Museum. The free-access ground floor has information on Gaudí’s work, but you must pay a fee to go upstairs to see the original house of the guard and the exhibition “Gaudí and Park Güell. Architecture and Nature”. Beyond the two pavilions, on the right one can see a kind of grotto supported by a central column that becomes wider at the top, as if it were a wine glass, meant as a shelter for carriages and horses on rainy days.

The main staircase is parted by a small waterfall featuring the famous multi-coloured dragon of glazed ceramic trencadís. The stairs lead to the hypostyle hall, also known as the Hall of the 100 Columns though it only has 86. This hall, originally intended to be the market of the future housing estate, was decorated by Gaudí’s assistant Josep Maria Jujol, who was given carte blanche to do so. The result was exceptional: an undulating ceiling of mosaic with varied incrustations forming capricious spirals. 

When this zone was restored in 1992 lights were added at the base of the columns, which create a spectacular resemblance to a Greek church at night. From the hypostyle hall two paths lead to the great circular square, a marvellous belvedere overlooking the city. According to Gaudí’s initial design, this square was to collect rainwater, channelled down inside the columns of the hypostyle hall to be collected in a huge cistern holding up to 12,000 cubic metres.

The square is surrounded by a winding bench of trencadís in which the imagination of Gaudí and Jujol achieved an extraordinary boldness, considered by some specialists a forerunner of abstract art. The bench is a symphony of colours: greens, blues and yellows are used in different combinations, forming moon shapes and stars and abstract flowers. Colour, however, fades away gradually from left to right, and at the far right the bench is mainly white, the symbol of purity. The bench seems to hint that human life is a kaleidoscope of colours that culminate after death in heavenly white. The white of this part of the bench is not, however, a pure white: here Gaudí used materials that had been rejected in other buildings, such as Casa Batlló, precisely because of the “impurity” of this white. The last restoration of the bench (1995) has maintained this imperfection by using up to 21 different hues and shades of white to replace the deteriorated parts.

Other unusual features of the Park Güell are its bridges and viaducts, with twisted, grotto-like columns. The fourth portico that connects the upper part with the lower part is perhaps the most Surrealist structure, with the leaning walls and arches that recall images by Dalí. The summit of the park is crowned by a monumental Calvary formed by three crosses at the place where Gaudí had planned to build the chapel. Even here the feverish architect had symbolic fantasies. If we look toward the east -toward Jerusalem, as it were- the perspective seems to merge all three crosses into one. This is the final point of the ascent: the cross is the ultimate symbol.

The Casa-Museu Gaudi is also within the boundaries of the park. The museum occupies the house in which Antoni Gaudí spent the last 20 years of his life and exhibits interesting elements on the life and work of the brilliant architect. Among other things, visitors can see furniture from Palau Güell, the Casa Calvet and the Casa Batlló, personal objects and souvenirs of Gaudí, in addition to materials and elements of his personal work that provide a particular view of his complex and often vague personality. The house was built under the direction of Francesc Berenguer i Mestres, although the project was signed by Gaudí.

Santa Maria Del PI

Nestled between two picturesque squares, the Plaça del Pi and Plaça Sant Josep Oriol, the church of Santa Maria del Pi was built between 1319 and 1391, in the purest Gothic style.

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The otherwise rather sober main facade is relieved by a pointed-arch doorway with a Gothic statue of the Madonna and by a large rose-window. The main tower and those on the front have no domes. It comprises a single nave, with side chapels between buttresses. The cross-vaulted ceiling gives a sense of monumental scale and height, as is often the case with Barcelona’s Gothic churches. 

Unfortunately, the stained-glass windows of the church of Santa Maria del Pi in Barcelona aren’t the original ones, nor is the large rose window, measuring 10 metres in diameter, which competes in size with one of the biggest in Europe: Nôtre Dame in Paris. The original windows were restored by Josep Maria Jujol after the Spanish Civil War. The tympanum over the main doorway of the Gothic church features the figure of the Virgin Mary flanked by two pine cones in tribute to the name of the church (pi is Catalan for pine tree)

It is said that a pine forest once stood on this site of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, and, indeed, a pine tree still stands in front of the church. At the side of the church, the Ave Maria doorway features some Romanesque elements of a church which once stood on the same site. The church of Santa Maria del Pi in Barcelona houses the remains of the most Barcelonian of saints, Sant Josep Oriol, who was a priest at this famous church.

Back : Rambla tour

The Botero's Cat

A true symbol of Barcelona and the Raval neighbourhood. He seems to feel comfortable here at the end of the avenue in this neighbourhood. Botero’s Cat is greeted with a smile by everyone. He only has one competitor: the horse, located at the airport, by the same artist.



Location : Ciutad Vella ( Old Town ), Barrii  El Raval ( El Raval neighbourhood ). See right on the center THIS MAP

Sant Paul del Camp

An air of countryside in the middle of the Raval. The cloister of the monastery Benedictine from the XII century will retain you for its quietness.

The church or monastery of Sant Pau del Camp (Spanish for Saint Paul of the countryside) is the oldest church in Barcelona. While the monastery now sits within the El Raval barrio of central Barcelona, it once sat outside the city; its rural location gave the church its name.

Construction began late in the ninth century; in 985 it was attacked and nearly destroyed by the Muslim troops of al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, and abandoned by the monks.Restorations were begun in 1096 and a new monastic community arrived. The new monastery was again attacked in 1114; three years later it became a priory of the monastery of Sant Cugat, and again restored. It was defended by the city's new line of walls in the 14th century. The monks were driven from the monastery in 1835.

Location : Ciutad Vella ( Old Town ), Barri Raval ( Raval neighbourhood ). See right on the center THIS MAP

Joan Miró

Joan Miró ( 1893 Barcelona / 1983 Palma de Majorque ) son of a watch maker and silversmith.

Joan Miro 1906

1907 : Enrols at the School of Commerce in Barcelona. At the same time he attends classes at the School of Industrial and Fine Arts (the Llotja).
1910 :Enrols in the school of art run by Francesc Galí.
1918 : First one-man show at the Galeries Dalmau, Barcelona.
1920 : Travels to Paris for the first time, visits Picasso in his studio.
1921 : First solo exhibition in Paris at the Galerie La Licorne.
1923 : He meets avant-garde poets, painters and writers as well as Ernest Hemingway, who purchases The farm.
1925 : Solo exhibition at the Galerie Pierre, Paris.
1928 : Produces the first object-collages titled Spanish dancer. Visits Belgium and Holland. Paints the Dutch interiors in Mont-roig (80 mi S-W of Barcelona).
1929 : Works on the series known as "Imaginary portraits". Marries Pilar Juncosa in Palma, Majorca. They settle in Paris.
1930 : In Mont-roig he produces his first three-dimensional pieces. First one-man show in the United States, at the Valentine Gallery, New York.

The Farm 1923	The Spanish dancer 1928	Dutch interior I 1928
Imaginary portrait 1929	Imaginary portrait 1929	Imaginary portrait 1929

Joan Miro Paris, 1925
Photograph : Man Ray

1931 : In Mont-roig he starts a series of paintings on Ingres paper and object-paintings.
1932 : Works on a new series of objects. Designs the curtain, sets, costumes and objects for the ballet Jeux d'enfants performed by the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. First one-man show at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York.
1936 : Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he decides to stay in Paris. Attends life classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, where he produces a large number of drawings.
1938 : Produces a large mural painting, The reaper (Catalan peasant in revolt), for the Spanish Republican Government's pavilion, at the World's Fair in Paris.
1940 : Miró decides to return to Spain, in Palma, Majorca, with his wife and daughter.
1941 : First large retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1942 : Continues working exclusively on paper. Returns to Barcelona
1944 Produces his first ceramics, Publication of the set of 50 lithographs known as the Barcelona series, Returns to painting on canvas, which he had virtually abandoned since 1939.
1946 Produces his first bronze sculptures.

The reaper 1937

Woman deaming of an escape 1945

Solar bird 1947

( Known only through a few black and white photographs, The Reaper was exhibited at the Paris World's Fair in 1937. Picasso's famous Guernica was also exhibited there. Unfortunately after the fair was dismantled, The Reaper was lost )

1947 First trip to the United States, where he produces a mural painting for the Gourmet Room at the Terrace Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati:

Joan Miro, Mont-roig, 1952

1949 He alternates between two types of painting: one more reflective and the other more gestural and impulsive. Although based in Barcelona, he makes frequent visits to Paris to work on printing techniques at the Mourlot studio (lithographs) and at the Atelier Lacourière (engravings). His work on ceramics and sculpture becomes increasingly intensive. Exhibition at the Galerías Layetanas, Barcelona.
1950 Starts work on the mural painting for the dining hall at Harkness Commons, Harvard University, commissioned by Walter Gropius, which he completes the following year.
1958 Inauguration of the two murals for UNESCO in Paris, for which he receives the Guggenheim International Award.
1960 Works with Josep Llorens Artigas on the ceramic mural for Harkness Commons, Harvard University, to replace the mural painting.

The Moon, a mural for the UNESCO Paris

1966 Produces his first monumental sculptures in bronze, Sun bird and Moon bird. Retrospective exhibition at the National Museum of Art, Tokyo. Visits Japan for the first time,
1967 Installation of a ceramic mural, produced in collaboration with Josep Llorens Artigas, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Awarded the Carnegie International Grand Prize for painting.
1970 Ceramic mural and mural painting for the Laughter Pavilion sponsored by Japanese gas companies at the Osaka World's Fair. In conjunction with Artigas, he produces a monumental ceramic mural for Barcelona Airport.
1976 Installation of the ceramic paving in the Pla de l'Os in the Rambla, Barcelona.
1977 Produces a large tapestry in conjunction with Josep Royo for the National Gallery, Washington D.C.

Alicia, Salomon Guggenheim Museum New York

1978 Unveiling of the monumental sculpture Lovers playing with almond blossom in La Défense, Paris.

1981 Installation of the monumental sculpture known as Miss Chicago in Brunswick Plaza, Chicago.

1982 Installation of the monumental sculpture Woman and bird in the Parc de Joan Miró, Barcelona.

Back to : the Miró Foundation

Sources :
http://www.fundaciomiro-bcn.org/?idioma=2
http://catalogue.successiomiro.com/catalogues/ceramics/mur-de-la-lune-1957-424.html