Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ANTONI TÀPIES
Born in the Barri Gòtic (on c/de la Canuda),
Antoni Tàpies i Puig
(1923-2012) initially
studied law at the University of Barcelona, though he left before completing his degree.
Drawn to art from an early age, and largely self-taught (though he studied briefly at Bar-
celona's Academia Valls), he became in 1948 a founding member of the influential Dau
al Set (“Die at Seven”), a grouping of seven artists that produced a monthly avant-garde
magazine of the same name which ran until 1956. His first major paintings date from as
early as 1945, by which time he was already interested in collage (using newspaper, card-
board,silverwrapping,stringandwire)andengravingtechniques.IntheDaualSetperiod,
after coming into contact with Miró, among others, he underwent a brief Surrealist phase.
However, after a stay in Paris he found his feet with an
abstract style
that matured in the
Fifties, a period during which he held his first major exhibitions, including shows in New
York and Europe. Tàpies's large works are deceptively simple, though underlying mes-
sagesandthemesaresignalledbythecollage-likeinclusionofeverydayobjectsandawide
use of symbols on the canvas. He has also continually experimented with unusual materi-
als, like oil paint mixed with crushed marble, or by employing sand, clay, cloth or straw in
hiscollages. Tàpies'sworkbecame increasingly
political
duringthe Sixties andSeventies:
AlamemòriadeSalvadorPuigAntich,1974
(In Memory of Salvador Puig Antich, 1974”)
commemorates a Catalan anarchist executed by Franco's regime, while slogans splashed
across his works, or the frequent use of the red bars of the Catalan flag, leave no doubt
about his affiliations. The works preceding his death were more sombre still, featuring re-
curring images of earth, shrouds and bodies, as echoes of civil war and conflict. Mean-
while,hehadleftastringofimportant outdoorworksacrossthecity,including themyster-
ious glass box that is his
Homenatge a Picasso
(“Homage to Picasso”; 1983), on Passeig
de Picasso, outside the gates of the Parc de la Ciutadella.
Museu Egipci de Barcelona
C/de València 284 • June-Aug Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-2pm, Sept-May Mon-Fri 10am-2pm &
4-8pm,Sat10am-8pm,Sun10am-4pm•€11,under-5sfree•GuidedtoursSatat11am(Catalan)&5pm(Span-
ish) included in the entry price; for English-language tours, contact the museum in advance • 934 880 188,
museuegipci.com
• Passeig de Gràcia
Half a block east of Passeig de Gràcia, the
Museu Egipci de Barcelona
is an exceptional
private collection of artefacts from ancient Egypt - there's nothing else in Spain quite like it.
It was founded by hotelier and antiquity collector Jordi Clos - whose deluxe
HotelClaris
, a
block away, still has its own private museum - and displays a remarkable gathering of over
a thousand objects, ranging from amulets to sarcophagi. The emphasis is on exploring the
