Thursday, April 08, 2004
Spain Trip - Day 7 Barcelona
The weather today reminds me of London a couple of weeks ago, wet and cold. It is supposed to be warmer here! Anyway we took a the opportunity to do some indoor stuff.
First stop the Picaso Museum. The museum has a wide range of his work ranging from when he was 15 to just before he died. It is very interesting to see the progression of his style due to the influence of different people and events. In the early days his paintings were very traditional if slightly impressionist. He then made the gradual move to the cubism he is known for. Some of it was a bit childish for my tastes. He painted 24 different versions of a painting by an old master, and none of them looked anything like it!
The afternoon was devoted to Gaudi. There are two buildings of his on Passeig de Garcia the first being an apartment built for his benefactor, a wealthy textile merchant. The building has a nautical theme where he uses wood to make flowing shapes, green and blue stained glass, mosaics and whirl pool ceilings. He was not just artistically minded but also had ingenious inventions for ventilation and lighting. I would direct you to the web site but it is absolutely horrendous.
Further up the street is the La Pedrera. It houses a few local government departments but the penthouse is divded into two apartments open to the public. One has authentic furniture and contents so you can see what it was like to live in when it was completed in 1906. Although much simpler inside than Casa Batllo the real jewel is the roof. On top are some unique mosaic chimney stacks. In the attic you can see the structure of the brick arches that support the roof.
The weather today reminds me of London a couple of weeks ago, wet and cold. It is supposed to be warmer here! Anyway we took a the opportunity to do some indoor stuff.
First stop the Picaso Museum. The museum has a wide range of his work ranging from when he was 15 to just before he died. It is very interesting to see the progression of his style due to the influence of different people and events. In the early days his paintings were very traditional if slightly impressionist. He then made the gradual move to the cubism he is known for. Some of it was a bit childish for my tastes. He painted 24 different versions of a painting by an old master, and none of them looked anything like it!
The afternoon was devoted to Gaudi. There are two buildings of his on Passeig de Garcia the first being an apartment built for his benefactor, a wealthy textile merchant. The building has a nautical theme where he uses wood to make flowing shapes, green and blue stained glass, mosaics and whirl pool ceilings. He was not just artistically minded but also had ingenious inventions for ventilation and lighting. I would direct you to the web site but it is absolutely horrendous.
Further up the street is the La Pedrera. It houses a few local government departments but the penthouse is divded into two apartments open to the public. One has authentic furniture and contents so you can see what it was like to live in when it was completed in 1906. Although much simpler inside than Casa Batllo the real jewel is the roof. On top are some unique mosaic chimney stacks. In the attic you can see the structure of the brick arches that support the roof.
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