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Spain , with its myriad of influences and epic history, is
a country with a diverse gamut of sights and sounds to offer its
45 million tourists who visit every year. An area where this can
be seen in particular is in its museums and galleries, a rich history
of art and culture has left Spain a huge legacy in this department
with names such as Dali, Picasso and Miro leading the list:
Guggenheim, Bilbao:
Now one of the most easily recognised
buildings in Europe, the Guggenheim in Bilbao is a work of art
itself. Opened in 1997 and designed by American architect Frank
O. Gehry, the museum has been a lynchpin for the city’s redevelopment
programme and in many ways the museum symbolises the new, modern
Bilbao.
Standing right in the city centre alongside the river the museum
offers 11,000 sqm of exhibition space over three galleries. The
museum has a body of permanent work always on display as well as
large exhibitions which run for months at a time. Currently on
View is the “Aztec Empire” comprising of a huge body
of work from the pre-columbian civilization. Previous exhibitions
have encompassed an eclectic blend of art with work from the likes
of Matisse, Michelangelo, Reubens and Warhol having graced its
corridors.
Dali Theatre-Museum, Figueres
Located in Figueres, the Dali Theatre-Museum
is the broadest collection of his work in the world tracing his
first artistic forays, the surrealist period and even including
some of the last works painted before his death. Figueres also
happens to be Dali’s
hometown and the decision to build the museum from the ruins of
the town’s Spanish civil war-damaged theatre, didn’t
seem like a difficult one. Indeed, it was here as a boy where Dali
first had the chance to display his work so is a fitting place
to exhibit the cream of his life’s work. Dali himself supervised
the building and creation of the museum turning it into a huge
surrealist playground. Dali also created some works specifically
for the museum itself – the “Mae West Room”,
the “Wind Palace Room” and the “Monument to Francesc
Pujols and the Rainy Cadillac” are larger than life and superb
examples of Dali’s fertile imagination.
Reina Sofia , Madrid
One of Madrid’s most celebrated
museums, the Reina Sofia houses a huge collection of contemporary
art. Once the city’s
San Carlos hospital, the museum was originally founded in 1986
but underwent a serious revamp in 1990 at the hands of British
architect, Ian Ritchie. They envisioned creating something to rival
the Tate in London and the Pompidou centre in Paris, and, with
36,000 sqm of exhibition space, it’s one of the world’s
largest museums and an extremely impressive place. The most famous
painting housed there is undoubtedly Picasso’s Guernica,
an immense cubist work and war protest and probably the great painter’s
most famous work. Visitors can also see the many preliminary sketches
that he made for the work. Other great Spanish artists on display
are Dali, Miro and Orteiz to name but a few as well as Spain’s
most important artists of the last 20 years.
Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona
One of Spain’s most important artists and often overlooked
due to the lure of Picasso and Dali, the Fundacio Joan Miro in
the Montjuic area of Barcelona is well worth a visit. Spacious
and set in its own grounds, the museum is a step away from the
regular metropolitan museums and galleries – the white building
built around an internal courtyard is typically Mediterranean.
Huge amounts of natural light help to bring Miro’s surrealist
works to life and the museum also houses some of his sculptures
and ceramic works as well as the paintings he’s more famous
for. The museum also has a permanent exhibition space in which
the foundation gives special attention to Spain’s more experimental
artists – not everyone’s cup of tea, granted, but worth
a look if you’re visiting the museum.
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