Almost everybody in the world has heard the famous name Salvador Dalí.

One of the world’s most celebrated artists and personalities, his work and eccentricities played an essential role in defining the cultural movement known as surrealism. Bringing together discordant images, abstract visions, and an exploration of the unconscious mind, his work is still adored today.

Catalonia was the birthplace and home of Dalí, and as such thousands of pilgrims and lovers of art arrive each year to see his works for themselves.

Are you considering visiting Barcelona to learn more about Dalí and explore his mind-bending work for yourself? Here’s a closer look at the key places you can see Dalí art in Barcelona.

Where to enjoy Dalí art during your trip to Barcelona?

While Dalí did not live in Barcelona, the key locations in his life are found just outside the Mediterranean hub. Short journeys using public transport can quickly whisk visitors to Barcelona away to those places.

If you are a Dalí enthusiast, you will adore your trip to Barcelona. On short excursions into Catalonia you will walk in the very steps of Dalí and feel his presence around you. Seeing the key Dalí sights is also incredibly simple.

“The Dalinian Triangle” is used to refer to the three important Dalí locations that are linked together by lines that make a triangle.

Here is a closer look at these places and what you can find there.

1. Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres

Found in the home town of Dalí, this museum receives millions of visitors each year. It is certainly a unique and stunning building, fitting with Dalí’s own wishes:

“I want my museum to be a single block, a labyrinth, a great surrealist object. It will be [a] totally theatrical museum. The people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.”

The museum hosts the largest and most diverse collection of Dalí’s work. The paintings on display there are complemented by a range of other curiosities and pieces of art, in addition to Dalí’s own collection from other artists.

The building has to be seen to be believed, with odd figures adorning the façade and a geodesic dome providing interesting sights. Of course, Dalí is also buried beneath the stage and this is an important place for lovers of his work.

How to get there?

This museum is located in Figueres, which is around 143 km from Barcelona. Given that this is the second most visited museum in Spain, though, the transport links are great.

You can choose to take a regional train from a variety of stations for around 15€. This will take under two hours and passes through some beautiful scenery.
You can choose to take a high-speed train from Sants station for around 35€. This takes around 50 minutes but you will have to take a taxi or bus from the station to the museum once you arrive in Figueres.

Getting inside

As with all of the items in this list, it’s important that you book ahead online and you will be allotted a specific entry time. The prices vary according to whether you are an individual or in a group, so be sure to check online.

2. Dalí’s House in Port Lligat

If you decide to visit Figueres, then you might want to consider extending your exploration of Dalí by taking a one-hour bus to see Dalí’s home in Port Lligat.

This home was originally a series of small fisherman’s huts that Dalí purchased in sequence and incorporated into the house. For over 50 years (from 1930 to 1982), Dalí lived and worked here and cultivated the labyrinthine structure of the building.

He left upon the death of his wife Gala, and he never returned. With just a short bus journey, you are able to visit his refuge and see a range of countless interesting items that kept him company.

How to get there?

Port Lligat is located just outside Cadaques. You can arrive there by taking a train to Figueres and then a one-hour bus journey from there.

Getting inside

As with all of the items in this list, it’s important that you book ahead online and you will be allotted a specific entry time. The prices will vary according to your group, so be sure to get the latest prices by checking online.

3. The Gala Dalí Castle

This incredible castle was built and restored by Dalí, who purchased it for his wife Gala. The medieval building was restored to fine health by Dalí and it served as a sanctuary and resting place for his beloved wife who is now buried there.

Dalí bought the castle in 1968 and respected his wife’s privacy, never visiting her there without advance express permission in writing. Gala passed away in 1982 and this was the first time that Dalí began living in the castle. As his health deteriorated, however, his family and friends decided that he should move back to his birth place of Figueres.

There are a range of works at the castle and a Dalí enthusiast will relish the opportunity to explore these works in such a significant setting.

How to get there?

The “Portbou” line from Barcelona can take you to the Flaçà station, which is found around 4km from the castle. This can be a pleasant walk that should take just under an hour, or you can opt to take a taxi from the station.

Getting inside

As with all of the items in this list, it’s important that you book ahead online and you will be allotted a specific entry time. You will see that there are guided visits or regular visits, so you should be sure to choose the one that you prefer.

Enjoy Exploring Dalí!

Salvador Dalí is widely loved around the world, and we hope that you enjoy the opportunity to get up close and personal with not only his work but also the places that meant so much to him. These places are truly special and we’re sure that you will have an amazing time!

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Joan Miró i Ferrá was born in the city of Barcelona in 1893. He studied trade and worked in his parents’ shop until he decided he wanted to be a painter, thanks to the influence of artists such as Modest Urgell and Josep Pascó. He entered the Círculo Artístico de Sant Lluc, where he met the great European avant-garde trends of the time. But it was in Paris that he encountered the Dada movement, the origin of surrealism. His work was very influenced by this artistic movement, becoming one of its great representatives.

Always with his own language, loaded with sexuality, the artist developed his work on topics related to women and nature. Experimentation with materials and techniques, in addition to the overexposure of color and abstract forms, are part of his unique style.

In 1975 the artist opened La Fundació Joan Miró with the purpose of “giving artists a place to express themselves”. Today, there’s a great presence of Joan Miró in Barcelona, thanks to this foundation and 3 artworks he gave to the city: The El Prat airport Mural, the Pavimento Miró and La Dona i l’Ocell.

With this article we want to introduce you to the essence of Joan Miró in Barcelona that is still alive. Keep reading to know more about his artworks and the Fundació Joan Miró. And don’t miss them during your visit!

The presence of Joan Miró in Barcelona

Ceramic Mural – Terminal 2 of Barcelona Airport

Joan Miró wanted to “welcome tourists who arrived in Barcelona by land, sea and air”. That’s why all those who arrive to Barcelona by plane will have a very artistic welcome. In the façade of terminal 2 of the Barcelona airport there is a beautiful ceramic mural. For this artwork he collaborated with Llorens i Artigas, a well-known ceramist, with whom he created this impressive 5 meters high and 9 meters long piece. Colors, shapes and ceramics are intermingled in a work of great proportions, another of the characteristics of this multidisciplinary artist.

In 2016, the city of Barcelona debated about the name of the airport, with the name “Joan Miró” being one of the finalists. At the end, the airport remained under the name of Barcelona El Prat Airport, but the mural is still there.

Pavimento Miró (Mosaic) – Las Ramblas of Barcelona

Miró thought that visitors arriving by boat, after docking at the port, would walk up Las Ramblas to visit the La Boqueria Market. That is why the artist decided to plant his work at the exit of this well-known market, in the middle of Las Ramblas. It is a huge and colorful ceramic mosaic forming masses of color with the characteristic Miró style. With this work, Miró sought to make a representation of the universe through its colors and round shapes.

The work, despite being a mosaic, is known as the “Pavimento Miró”. Joan Miró knew that the mosaic would deteriorate with the passage of time and the footprints of the tourists but decided to do it anyway. Luckily, the city council has carried out various restoration works so that the Pavimento Miró does not lose its great artistic value.

La Dona i l’Ocell (The Woman and The Bird) – Parc Joan Miró

The third work that the Joan Miró gave to Barcelona and its citizens is in the former Parc de l’Escorxador, now known as the Parc Joan Miró. Inaugurated in 1983, this work is called “Dona i Ocell”. This 22-meter-high work represents two of the most repeated “themes” in the artist’s work: the woman and animals. The colorful and huge statue represents a woman with a bird on her head, something that at first glance can be a bit difficult to appreciate.

The outside of the monument is covered with ceramics and in its central part you can see various abstract forms about the sex of women. In this artwork you can also see two distinguished tributes. The first to the Ancient Rome phallic forms, symbol of fertility and health. On the other hand, Miró makes with this work a tribute to Antoni Gaudí, one of the most important architects in the history of Barcelona.

Fundació Joan Miró

How to get to the Fundació Joan Miró? Parc de Montjuïc, s / n, 08038 Barcelona
For more information: www.fmirobcn.org

The last of Miró’s gifts to the city is his contemporary art foundation. The foundation is a place that, as he himself said, is designed so that artists from all over the world have a place to express themselves and show their works. In addition to temporary exhibitions of all kinds, currently exhibits a huge archive with some of the best works of the Catalan artist. The foundation’s collection consists of more than 10,000 works of art including drawings, tapestries, sculptures and sketches that are exhibited in both temporary and permanent exhibitions. On the other hand, there are works by Miró in Germany, Tenerife, San Francisco or Tokyo, something that gives us an idea of ​the international reach of this artist.

As for the ticket to the exhibition, you should know that it is affordable, depending on the exhibition you visit, prices may range between 2,5 and 12 euros. The Fundació Joan Miró is in the Montjuic Mountain, so it is an almost obligatory stop if you are going to visit this area of ​​Barcelona. It also organizes activities, courses and workshops related to the art world.

Before visiting La Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, we recommend you visit the web and learn the different activities or temporary exhibitions that exist, to know what is the best thing available that day. Our advice is that you go with time to dive into the author’s work, get to know his life and enjoy the beautiful building and its surroundings. A great deal of the artistic life of the Catalan painter is in this Foundation that is, without a doubt, the best gift he could have ever made to his hometown.

Featured image: Personaje delante del sol, Joan Miró

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Things you may not know about Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso, internationally known as Picasso, was a Spanish painter and sculptor born in Málaga in 1881. Picasso stood out in the art world for his original approach and creating his own artistic path, as well as for his technique and the creation of his own school of painting, called cubism, that also influenced a lot of different artists through history.

Although he achieved world fame thanks to his paintings and sculptures, the artist from Málaga excelled in other fields such as drawing, engraving and illustration. Picasso also worked with ceramics, set design and props related to costumes for theatrical productions. A versatile talent that served to put Spanish art on the international map.

On April 8, 1871 he died in France leaving a legacy of more than 16,000 works that are exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world, including the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.

Picasso’s tracks in Barcelona

Today’s art is shaped by Pablo Picasso’s paints. The Spanish artist had a long way to develop his own avant-garde style. In his sources of inspiration, Barcelona was a very influential step and a turning point in his life and art. Nowadays, if we walk through Barcelona, we can still follow Picasso’s tracks:

Picasso arrived in Barcelona in 1895. As a curious and energic teenager, he took part in the artistic boom going on in the city. Els Quatre Gats (“The Four Cats”) was a Bohemian pub where Picasso used to hang out. He did his first exhibition there. Located in a very surreal building, the place is now a restaurant where you can still appreciate its well conserved Art Nouveau aspect while you have lunch or dinner.

Picasso became a professional artist during his nine years in Barcelona and had different art studios in the oldest city´s neighborhood, the Gothic Quarter.

There he made friends and was influenced by main Catalan artists of that time like Ramón Casas and Pablo Gargallo.

In a former brothel in Barcelona, which is nowadays a Hostel called Levante, Picasso also used to enjoy the company and special services of beautiful women.

He even dedicated one of his famous paintings “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” to those ladies. However there were assumptions, that the painting was related to the French city “Avinyo”, there are facts, that it was all about this small street Carrer Avinyó in Barcelona.

If you keep your eyes opened, you will see a graffity of this same painting right next to the hostel.

The main expression of the artist’s ties to Barcelona is Picasso Museum, an exhibition which was created by the will of himself. This unique museum shows the majority of Picasso’s paints in his youngest age. You will find it in a huge Medieval palace in Born District, filled with parts of the historic Barcelona that will bring you right back to the Middle Ages. This museum is a must-visit for all the art lovers in the world.

Although Picasso moved to Paris already after nine years in 1904, he was very attached to Barcelona for the rest of his life and his mind found inspiration right at the same streets where people walk around in present.

The most outstanding artworks of Pablo Picasso in the museum of Barcelona

Ciencia y Caridad

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1897.

Pablo Picasso painted “Ciencia y Caridad” when he was only 15 years old. According to the experts, it is one of Pablo’s last works before leaving the academic line, that is, the starting point in which the painter started experimenting trying to find his own artistic path. That is why this painting is so valuable, since it shows the artistic capacity of Picasso when he was only 15 years old and, on the other hand, the painting helps us to compare it with his other works and discover the origins of Picasso’s work. Named by experts as an art work of social realism, the malagueño focus on this painting in the the advance of the science.

La Espera (Margot)

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1901

The exceptional technique and voracious hunger that Picasso felt when creating made him experiment with different techniques and styles. In this case “La Espera” shows with a pointillist tendency the nightlife of Paris that he met. Through the strokes of thick brush and the influences of Van Gogh, the Spanish painter created one of the most recognizable works of all his artistic work. Although it was exhibited in Paris, Margot currently resides in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.

Desamparados

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1903

Another recurring theme in Picasso’s work, especially in the early 1900s, was motherhood. In this work, Picasso pays a conscious tribute to Greco’s technique through the hand that protects the baby from the cold. “Desamparados” is a painting in which Picasso wanted to show how difficult it was to bear the burden that society imposed on mothers. Two contrasting aspects stand out in his painting: the light that illuminates the faces with respect to the little expressiveness of their looks and faces. A psychologically hard work that shows the “more human” side of the Spanish artist.

Retrato de Benedetta Bianco

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1906

Benedetta Bianco was the wife of Ricard Canals, one of Pablo Picasso’s best friends. She agreed to pose for the artist to help him in one of his works for which he needed references. During the posing for the artwork “Un Palco en los Toros”, the painter decided to draw her. In this portrait you can see a remarkable influence of the artistic works of Ricard Canals. It is a frontal portrait whose focus is on Benedetta’s face and her gesture, as well as other physical aspects of the protagonist, such as her black hair, the look and the veil.

Harlequin

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1917

It is a portrait in the style of Benedetta Bianco, especially in the composition and the format. “Arlequín” (in Spanish) is a frontal portrait in which Picasso tries to reflect his most comic part, while showing at the same time what he tries to hide from the world. The Harlequin represents that comical and burlesque figure as a metaphor of the artist interior that gives us an idea of what Picasso sees when he looks himself in the mirror. As a curiosity, it is noteworthy that this work was created in Barcelona and was also the first one that was displayed in the museum that receives the artist name.

Las Meninas

Picasso Museum Barcelona, 1957

This is a tribute to another of the greatest Spanish artists of all time, Velázquez. This series of paintings embody several characteristics of the author’s work, such as the space and perspective of the art work. The most remarkable changes that exist with the original painting are the change of format from horizontal to vertical, the simplification of the protagonists and the strong points of light that enter the painting through the windows. If we look at Diego Velázquez’s painting we can see that the windows are closed, while in the work of the author from Málaga these are open, becoming some of the strongest points of the painting.

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