Architecture and Art
Trip Start
Apr 01, 1988
1
8
Trip End
Ongoing
Catalonia,
Spain
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Catalonia's earliest definable architectural style was Romanesque, which resulted in the building of nearly two thousand churches and monasteries between 1000 and 1250. You can almost trace the Christians' victories over the Moors by observing its architecture. In the northern Pyrenean enclaves, such as the valleys of Boi and Aran or the small town of Ripoll, the churches are smaller and mesmerisingly simple showing strong French, or more accurately Frankish, influence. As the conquest moved further south and Barcelona's confidence as a Mediterranean seaport grew, the scale of religious architecture also grew in stature. Monasteries, such as those at Poblet and Santes Creus in the Province of Tarragona, are more ambitious and show overseas influence, particularly from Lombardy in Italy. The even more ornate Lleida Cathedral is another example of late Catalan Romanesque.
Given the sheer number of Romanesque buildings, the key to discovering architecture from this period is to get off the beaten track and explore the inland villages. Particularly in the north, these churches were once sumptuously decorated with murals and frescoes, but by the end of the 19th century vandalism and the elements had deteriorated them so much that they had to be saved. Using a process known as strappo, they were removed from their original sites and can now be viewed at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) on Montjuïc in Barcelona and the Museu Episcopal in Vic.
Both these museums also contain wonderful collections of Catalan Gothic art, which dates from the late 13th to the early 15th century. Examples of this architectural style can be found in Barcelona, which in the Barri Gòtic contains one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Most of the government buildings around Plaça Sant Jaume date from this period, whilst Santa Maria del Pi and the breathtaking Santa Maria del Mar are also not to be missed. Similarly, Girona Cathedral, which Gaudí cited as one of the essential buildings on the Iberian Peninsula, is truly awe-inspiring.
Following the death of the Catalan royal lineage and the accession of a Castilian to the throne in 1412, Catalonia entered a period of political and economic decline, which was accompanied a lack of artistic creativity. Consequently, the Renaissance and Baroque architecture is not on a par with Catalan Romanesque and Gothic. However, examples can be found, and a walk down Carrer Montcada in Barcelona will bear witness to this. For the later Imperial styles that followed Catalonia's annexation by Spain in 1714, you should visit the Catalan Parliament building in the Parc de la Ciutadella or the University of Cervera.
By the mid-19th century, economic prosperity triggered by the Industrial Revolution also engendered a cultural revival, first in literature and music and later, in the run up to Barcelona's 1888 Universal Exhibition, in architecture. This movement known as Modernisme was a Catalan Art Nouveau, which fortuitously coincided with the expansion of Barcelona's city centre into the Eixample. With over a thousand Modernist buildings, the style is one of Barcelona's trademarks, but the work of the three great masters Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1850-1923), Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) and Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867-1957) and their collaborators can be found in the most unlikely corners of Catalonia. Much the same as with Romanesque and Gothic, the trick is to get off the beaten track and explore.
The Modernists were so prolific that it is impossible to catalogue their work in this short introduction. However, you can compare and contrast their styles on the Manzana de la Discordia, the Block of Discord, on the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Carrer Consell de Cent in Barcelona. Within just a few metres of each other, you can observe the work of these three great iconoclastic architects.
Perhaps the least appealing of the three, at Passeig de Gràcia, 35 is Domènech i Montaner's Casa Lleó Morera. His other masterpieces include the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. A few doors up at number 41 is Puig i Cadafalch's striking Casa Amatller, while the most extraordinary is the Casa Batlló, next door at number 43, by Gaudí, who is of course better-known for the Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell and Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Modernist architecture also heralded in a parallel movement in visual art. This group of Paris-influenced artists, poets and musicians was led by Ramon Casas, whose work can be seen at the Museu d'Art Contemporanea in Barcelona, and Santiago Rusinyol, whose private studio, the Cau Ferrat, is now a museum in Sitges. However, to get a real feel for the times, you should visit Els Quatre Gats, a bar at Carrer Montsió, 3, which is still open today.
It was here that a young Picasso, who spent his late teens and early twenties in Barcelona, gave his first exhibition. The Museu Picasso on c/ Montcada in Barcelona shows much of his early work, and although the collection includes few of his 'masterpieces', it gives a fascinating insight into the genesis of genius. For an even more profound understanding of the roots of Picasso's creativity, it is also worth visiting Horta de Sant Joan in the Terra Alta comarca in the Province of Tarragona. Picasso spent two extended periods in this small village, and it was here that he almost single-handedly invented Cubism. Picasso is quoted as saying, 'Everything I have learnt, I have learnt at Horta', and the village museum's collection of paintings of Horta's rooftops and people reflect this so incredibly clearly.
Another Catalan artist, who began working in the earlier decades of the 20th century and also maintained the Barcelona-Paris connection, was Joan Miró (1893-1983), whose designs and sculptures are scattered around Barcelona, the city of his birth. He also has a fine museum dedicated to him on Montjuïc. In a similar vein, the wildly eccentric surrealist Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) was born in Figueres, where he inaugurated his equally eccentric museum in 1970.
Going back to architecture, the 1920s brought in a new style called Noucentisme, whose clean classical lines can be seen on the slopes of Montjuic as you walk up from Plaça Espanya and in many 20th century government buildings across Catalonia. This was the last truly Catalan architectural movement before the bleak years of Franco's dictatorship. Franco and his henchmen were so hell-bent on destroying Catalonia's heritage that they changed all the names of towns and streets into Castilian, and showed a similar disrespect for the Principality's architectural legacy.
From 1939 to 1975, jerry-built housing and industrial estates sprang up around historic town centres, and it is for this reason that the word suburbi in Catalan doesn't mean suburb but is better translated as slum. Romanesque, Gothic and Modernist buildings were allowed to fall into a pitiful state and cynical speculation led to the construction of the eyesores that still line parts of the Catalan coast.
A lot has been done to improve things since the return of democracy. Hoardings have been torn down from historic buildings and facades have been restored. Green spaces have been created in the most depressing areas and the Generalitat has funded an ambitious project to restore statues to their original sites and build modern sculptures when this was impossible. So much has been achieved, but it is true to say that much of the damage done by nearly forty years of fascism is quite simply irreparable. So if you reach the outskirts of one of the town's in the guide, don't be put off by its down at heel appearance - Catalonia still contains beautiful wild green expanses and has many architectural jewels just waiting to be uncovered.
