Latin America guide


Top Four City Museums In Spain

Spain , with its myriad of influences andalso created some works specifically for the
epic history, is a country with a diversemuseum itself - the "Mae West Room", the
gamut of sights and sounds to offer its 45"Wind Palace Room" and the "Monument to
million tourists who visit every year. AnFrancesc Pujols and the Rainy Cadillac" are
area where this can be seen in particular islarger than life and superb examples of
in its museums and galleries, a rich historyDali's  fertile  imagination.
of art and culture has left Spain a huge
legacy in this department with names such asReina  Sofia  ,  Madrid
Dali,  Picasso  and  Miro  leading  the list:
One of Madrid's most celebrated museums, the
Guggenheim,  Bilbao:Reina Sofia houses a huge collection of
contemporary art. Once the city's San Carlos
Now one of the most easily recognisedhospital, the museum was originally founded
buildings in Europe, the Guggenheim in Bilbaoin 1986 but underwent a serious revamp in
is a work of art itself. Opened in 1997 and1990 at the hands of British architect, Ian
designed by American architect Frank O.Ritchie. They envisioned creating something
Gehry, the museum has been a lynchpin for theto rival the Tate in London and the Pompidou
city's redevelopment programme and in manycentre in Paris, and, with 36,000 sqm of
ways the museum symbolises the new, modernexhibition space, it's one of the world's
Bilbao.largest museums and an extremely impressive
place. The most famous painting housed there
Standing right in the city centre alongsideis undoubtedly Picasso's Guernica, an immense
the river the museum offers 11,000 sqm ofcubist work and war protest and probably the
exhibition space over three galleries. Thegreat painter's most famous work. Visitors
museum has a body of permanent work always oncan also see the many preliminary sketches
display as well as large exhibitions whichthat he made for the work. Other great
run for months at a time. Currently on ViewSpanish artists on display are Dali, Miro and
is the "Aztec Empire" comprising of a hugeOrteiz to name but a few as well as Spain's
body of work from the pre-columbianmost  important artists of the last 20 years.
civilization. Previous exhibitions have
encompassed an eclectic blend of art withFundacio  Joan  Miro,  Barcelona
work from the likes of Matisse, Michelangelo,
Reubens and Warhol having graced itsOne of Spain's most important artists and
corridors.often overlooked due to the lure of Picasso
and Dali, the Fundacio Joan Miro in the
Dali  Theatre-Museum,  FigueresMontjuic area of Barcelona is well worth a
visit. Spacious and set in its own grounds,
Located in Figueres, the Dali Theatre-Museumthe museum is a step away from the regular
is the broadest collection of his work in themetropolitan museums and galleries - the
world tracing his first artistic forays, thewhite building built around an internal
surrealist period and even including some ofcourtyard is typically Mediterranean. Huge
the last works painted before his death.amounts of natural light help to bring Miro's
Figueres also happens to be Dali's hometownsurrealist works to life and the museum also
and the decision to build the museum from thehouses some of his sculptures and ceramic
ruins of the town's Spanish civil war-damagedworks as well as the paintings he's more
theatre, didn't seem like a difficult one.famous for. The museum also has a permanent
Indeed, it was here as a boy where Dali firstexhibition space in which the foundation
had the chance to display his work so is agives special attention to Spain's more
fitting place to exhibit the cream of hisexperimental artists - not everyone's cup of
life's work. Dali himself supervised thetea, granted, but worth a look if you're
building and creation of the museum turningvisiting the museum.
it into a huge surrealist playground. Dali



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