CLEVELAND, OHIO - The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is proud to present the landmark exhibition Barcelona & Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí, on view through January 7, 2007.  Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, in association with the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, in Barcelona, this is the first exhibition in North America to examine a remarkable 71-year period (1868-1939) when Barcelona transformed itself from a city of provincial culture into one of the most dynamic centers of modernist art and architecture in Europe.

“The exhibition will provide American audiences with their first substantial glimpse into Catalan culture during a period of immense social turmoil and creative achievement,” commented William Robinson, CMA curator of Modern European art.  “Coming to terms with this remarkable period in the history of art presents a daunting challenge to anyone who wants to unravel the complexity of Barcelona and Catalonia, subjects we may never view in the same way again.”

The exhibition features more than 350 artworks in a variety of media: paintings, sculptures, posters, photographs, textiles, furniture, decorative objects, architectural designs and models.  Masterworks are being borrowed from museums and private collections around the world, including a substantial number from CMA’s own permanent collection.  Original documentary materials and innovative computer interactives will provide contextual information about Barcelona and its art. 

The exhibition examines the art of Barcelona between the September Revolution of 1868 and the fall of the Spanish Republic in 1939.  The works are organized in nine sections that unfold in a roughly chronological sequence and explore the Catalan Renaixença, followed by sections devoted to various aspects of Modernisme, Noucentisme and avant-garde art of the 20^th century.  The final section explores artistic responses to the Spanish Civil War.

Rebirth: The Catalan Renaixença (Section One)

The first section introduces the exhibition with background information about the revival of the Catalan language and culture in the 19^th century.  During this period Barcelona expanded rapidly and became the largest, most industrialized and most culturally advanced city in Spain.  Following the destruction of the city’s medieval walls, the city expanded into an area of new growth known as the Eixample, site of much of the city’s new modernista architecture.  In 1888, Barcelona celebrated its rising economic power by hosting a Universal Exposition of fine and industrial arts.

Highlights include: Ildefons Cerdà’s (1815-1876) Plan for the Enlargement of Barcelona (1861); and Lluis Domènech i Montaner’s (1850-1923) iron sculpture Rooster Greeting the Dawn (1892), designed for the Café-Restaurant of the Universal Exposition.

Modernisme: Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Arts (Section Two)

Modernisme refers to a broad cultural movement that emerged in the 1880s and lasted into the 1910s.  During this period, progressive artists and intellectuals in Barcelona opened up to foreign influences and embraced radical new ideas and art forms.  Ramon Casas (1866-1932) and Santiago Rusiñol (1861-1931), the key founders of this new tendency in Catalan painting, turned to themes and subjects reflecting the new realities of modern urban life.  They were followed by a second generation of modernista artists led by Isidre Nonell (1876-1911), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Joaquim Mir (1873-1940). Alexandre de Riquer (1856-1929) and Adrià Gual (1872-1944) produced notable modernista posters and graphic arts.

Highlights include: Rusiñol’s oil painting Café de Montmartre (1890); Mir’s oil painting The Rock in the Pool (c. 1903); and Josep Llimona’s (1864-1934) marble sculpture Grief (1907).

Modernisme: Quatre Gats (Section Three)

In 1897, Casas and Rusiñol joined with others to establish Quatre Gats (Four Cats), a legendary artist’s café that became the focus of bohemian artistic activity in Barcelona, the site of meetings, exhibitions, poetry readings and puppet theater performances. Picasso, at age 18, became a regular member of the group and held his first solo exhibition there in 1900.

Highlights include: Casas’ painting Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem (1897); and Picasso’s portraits of his fellow artists at the café (1899-1900).

Modernisme: Art and Society (Section Four)

This section features artistic representations of different levels of society during a period of rapid industrialization, labor strikes and anarchist bombings.  Although artists rarely made overly political statements, they did look closely at both the wealthy bourgeoisie and the working poor.  Picasso’s Blue Period depictions of beggars, prostitutes and abandoned mothers reflect the rising social consciousness of the younger generation of modernista artists in his circle. Paintings and drawings by Isidre Nonell, Picasso’s colleague who also focused on lower class life, are featured in this section.

Highlights include: Roman Casas’ The Garroting (1894), a painting that caused a sensation when exhibited in Barcelona; as well as with Picasso’s 1903 oil paintings La Vie (Life) and The Blindman’s Meal (1903).

Modernisme: Architecture and Design (Section Five)

Modernisme also found expression in architecture, design and decorative arts. Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867-1957), Josep Jujol (1879-1949) and Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) designed modernista buildings and furnishings concurrent with Art Nouveau in northern Europe, but of considerable originality, frequently expressing the aspirations of Catalan nationalism.  The revival of Catalan craft traditions produced remarkable works in wrought iron, stained glass, wood and ceramic.  Among the masterpieces of the period are Domènech’s Palace of Catalan Music (1905-1908), and Gaudí’s Casa Milà (1906-1910) and Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Família (b. 1883).  These and other buildings are represented in the exhibition by drawings, models, original fixtures and furnishings.

Highlights include: Puig i Cadafalch’s Ceiling Lamp from Casa Amatller (1898-1900); Gaudí’s Dressing Table from Palau Güell (c. 1899) and Two-Seat Sofa from Casa Batlló (c. 1907).

Noucentisme and the New Classicism (Section Six)

Noucentisme initially formed as a reaction against the emotional excesses of Modernisme.  Nouncentista artists sought to revive the spirit of Catalonia’s ancient classical past through more logical, orderly forms and themes infused with the timeless, eternal values of Mediterranean civilization.  Joaquín Torres-García (1874-1949), Joaquim Sunyer (1874-1956), Feliu Elias (1878-1948) and Xavier Nogués (1873-1941) led the way in Noucentista painting and design.  Classicizing works by Picasso and Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) are included in this section.

Highlights include: Picasso’s oil painting The Harem (1906); and Enric Casanovas’ (1882-1948) sculpture Persuasion (1912-1913).

Avant-gardes for a New Century (Section Seven)

Avant-garde art in Catalonia first developed sporadically among isolated individuals and then erupted into a broad movement around 1916, when international artists flocked to Barcelona pursuing inventive new art forms.  Rafael Barradas (1890-1929), Torres-García and Joan Miró (1893-1983) were Barcelona’s leading avant-garde artists.  Cubist paintings by Picasso, surrealist compositions by Miró and Dalí and sculptures by Julio González (1876-1942) are featured in this section.  Original manifestos, calligrams and magazines are also exhibited.

Highlights include: Miró’s oil paintings Self-Portrait (1919) and The Hunter (Catalan Landscape) (1923-1924); along with Dalí’s oil paintings Accomodations of Desire (1929) and The Dream (1931).

Avant-gardes: The Rational City (Section Eight)

In the late 1920s a new movement emerged in architecture and design that rejected revivalist styles in favor of starkly minimalist, rational structures.  This new movement produced the internationally renowned group GATCPAC (Group of Catalan Architects and Technicians for the Progress of Contemporary Architecture), dedicated to relieving social problems — overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, epidemic diseases, lack of educational and recreation facilities — through architecture and objects designed for the masses.  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) also graced the city with his pavilion for the Barcelona International Exposition of 1929, one of the most celebrated buildings in the history of modern architecture.

Highlights include: a model of GATCPAC’s Casa Bloc (1932-1936); and a model of Josep Lluís Sert, Joan B. Subirana and Josep Torres Clavé’s Central Antituberculosis Clinic (1934-1938).

Avant-gardes & Civil War (Section Nine)

Artists in Barcelona reacted to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) with posters, paintings, sculptures, films and photographs.  This section presents an array of works responding to the crisis, including paintings by Dalí, Miró and Picasso, along with sculptures by Julio González.  A model of Josep Lluís Sert’s Pavilion of the Spanish Republic for the Paris International Exposition of 1937 will be displayed with studies of Picasso’s Guernica.

Highlights from this section include: Dalí’s 1936 painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War); Miró’s painting Still Life with Old Shoe (1937); and Picasso’s painting Bull’s Skull, Fruit, Pitcher (1939).

The Cleveland presentation of this exhibition is sponsored by Baker Hostetler.  The exhibition was organized by The Cleveland Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in association with Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.  The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of America’s leading comprehensive museums.  Its permanent collection is world renowned for its quality and breadth, spanning 6,000 years.  The Museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship and art acquisitions.  For more information on the Museum, its holdings, programs, services and events, visit www.ClevelandArt.org