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Museu Picasso:
This fascinating museum traces the career of the most acclaimed
artist of modern times, from early childhood to the major works
of later years. The Picasso Museum is the city's biggest tourist
attraction. It contains one of the world's most important collections
of Picasso's work and the only one of any significance in his native
country.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Andalucia, but moved to the Catalan
capital in 1895, aged 14. He was already an exceptionally gifted
artist, and, by the time of his first exhibition here in 1900, was
well known. In 1904 he moved to Paris, but nevertheless remained
in close contact with Barcelona.
The museum contains work from his early years, notably a series
of impres-sionistic landscapes and seascapes, a portrait of his
aunt, Tia Pepa (18961, notebook sketches and paintings of street
scenes, including Sortida del Teatre (1896) and La Barceloneta (1897),
and the menu for Eis Quatre Gats (Four Cats) cafe. Other selected
works are from the Blue Period (1901-1904), the Pink Period (1904-1906),
the Cubist (1907-20) and Neo-classical (1920-25) periods, through
to the mature works of later years. There are also 41 ceramic pieces
donated by his wife, Jacqueline in 1982, which graphically demonstrate
the astonishing artistic development of this great master.
Poble Espanyal:
You can tour the whole of Spain in an afternoon here at Barcelona's
'Spanish Village', a remarkable showcase of regional architectural
styles. Built for the 1929 World Exhibition, the Poble Espanyol
(Spanish Village) was intended as a re-creation of the diversity
of Spanish regional architecture through the ages. It could easily
have resembled a stage set or a theme park, but instead, the 115
life-sized reproductions of buildings, clustered around 6 squares
and 3km of streets, form an authentic village, where visitors can
identify famous or characteristic buildings ranging from the patios
of Andalucia to Mallorcan mansions and the granite fagades of Galicia.
Within the village are bars and restaurants serving regional specialities,
and over 60 shops selling folk crafts and regional artefacts. Some
are undeniably over-priced, but there are also some real finds.
The Museum of Popular Arts, Industries and Traditions and the Museum
of Graphic Arts are also located here and every Sunday at midday,
a testa enlivens the main square. The Poble Espanyol was smartened
up for the 1992 Olympics, with the introduction of 'The Barcelona
Experience' (a half-hour audio-visual history of the city) and several
restaurants and bars, including the extraordinary Torres de Avila,
a trendy 'designer bar'-cum--nightclub, one of Barcelona's hottest
night spots. Excellent flamenco shows can also be seen at El Tablao
de Carmen .
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