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Article #114: Top Four City Museums In Spain

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






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