13th December in Barcelona with Tàpies and St. Lucy

My last trip to Barcelona before Christmas coincided with a day of double celebration: the 13th of December, indeed, is not only the day of Santa Llucia (Sant Lucy), but also corresponds to the birthday of Antoni Tàpies (as you will find out if you visit the Google website before midnight). Therefore, animated by the special doodle dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the great artist's birth-date, I devoted part of my day to celebrate this double recurrence.

As for the hagiographic aspect, I found out that on the 13th of December a special street market, called Feria de Santa Llucia (Fair of Saint Lucy), is organized in front of Barcelona Cathedral, right in the middle of Plaza de la Seu. I paid visit to it in the morning, looking for a couple of gifts and learning about the local traditional Christmas items. Mistletoe, local souvenir adapted for Christmas time, statuettes and material for the crèche were the most popular objects on the various stalls, which by eleven o' clock were invaded by a crowd of children eager to put their hands on all those coloured things. Leaving this lively crowd to the care of their worried teachers, I headed for Montjuich with the intention of visiting the Museu National d'Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia).

Before getting there, however, with a slight change in my route I walked by the Fundaciò Antoni Tàpie, located just a few metres from Casa Battlò. Though I did not visit the museum, I could at least learn a few things about this great artist, who died less than 2 years ago. Born in Barcelona, where he spent most of his life, Tàpies has been one of the main Spanish artists of the 20th century, being widely appreciated also on an international level. A painter and a sculptor, he developed a very peculiar style based on abstractism, symbolism and a spiritual idea of art.

The visit to the MNAC was the icing on the cake, as in the museum I could appreciate fine works of art related to both of the protagonists of the day. In the area devoted to Gothic art, indeed, is exhibited a wooden altar piece depicting the martyrdom of Santa Llucia, dating back to 1300 and of unknown authorship. The upper floor, instead, houses the modern part of the collection, among which stand out two works by Tàpies, namely Materia-Metall (1993, an assemblage of metal, wood and other materials) and Jeroglìfics (1994). As I have already said, I am not particularly fond of contemporary art, but nevertheless I could clearly feel I was contemplating the works of a great artist.

As a result, I cannot find a better way to conclude this post than leaving you with a precious quotation by Tàpies himself, which accompanied me throughout my visit to the museum: "En la contemplación de un cuadro, como en la audición de música o en la lectura de poesía, no se requiere que hayamos de hacer forzosamente un análisis intelectivo de las obras. El espectador hace ya bastante consintiendo el impacto que la obra [... ] hace resonar en su espíritu" (When we contemplate a painting, as when we listen to music or read a poem, we are not necessarily required to make an intellectual analysis of the work. The spectator plays his part just allowing the work to have an impact on his spirit").

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