Marlon Munoz
Prof. Hugo Fernandez
Art in NY-195.1386
April 14, 2006
Essay Review#1: Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudi to Dali
The Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudi to Dali exhibition took place at The
Metropolitan Museum of Art on April 12, 2007. This exhibition contained paints from
different artist of the modern time. Also, the exhibition it’s about a variety of artist that
emerge in Barcelona, Spain. These artists made appearances in a modernist era where
artist developed a fascination with chronicling contemporary life. Many of the artists
portrayed multiple aspects of society, from the urban bourgeoisie at leisure to poor
labors, street beggars and gypsies. Moreover, Barcelona became internationally known as
the ‘rose of fire” and the “city of bombs” due to the social conflicts and a series of
anarchist bombing, followed by sensational and executions. But, artist could not make
direct comments about the conflicts because the government would suppress violently to
any radical publication. Furthermore, the Barcelona exhibition touches many aspects of
political and contemporary life. Therefore, the exhibition has been designed to show the
different movements of the artist of that time. For instance, styles such as Modernism,
Noucentisme or the New Classicism, the age of the avant-garde and many others. Each of
these movements can be find in a different room with its respective chart of explanation.
These exhibition also provides an audio device for most of the pieces found in the
exhibition, in other words it is an audio tour. Some rooms have books that contain extra
information of any of the painting that has caught the visitor’s eye. These art books
provide background information of both, the artist and his works. As a final point, this
exhibition holds s a vast of political issues that artist have portrayed it thought their art
even when the government would prohibit the publication of some art pieces.
The Modernism: Art in society is a period where many artists would focus in
society, politics, and contemporary life. Other artist would focus on the victims of social
marginalization while not necessary committing themselves to a specific political agenda.
Moreover, a direct comment was difficult in the heated political climate of the time, when
the government brutally suppressed labor unrest, outlawed anarchist organizations, and
banned radical publications, including L’ Avenc (which means Advance), mouth piece of
the modernist movement . A great example of an artist of the Modernist movement is
Pablo Picasso. Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain, as the son
of an art and drawing teacher. He was a brilliant student. He passed the entrance
examination for the Barcelona School of Fine Arts at the age of 14 in just one day and
was allowed to skip the first two classes. According to one of many legends about the
artist's life, his father, recognizing the extraordinary talent of his son, gave him his
brushes and palette and vowed to paint never again in his life. In addition, Pablo Picasso
made a paint called a “Blind Man’s Meal”, which was done on 1903 and the material
used was oil on canvas. This painting was executed in Barcelona in autumn 1903. It
demonstrates characteristics of the artist’s Blue Period. The Blue Period of Picasso lasted
from about 1900 to 1904. It is characterized by the use of different shades of blue
underlining the melancholic style of his subjects - people from the grim side of life with
thin, half-starved bodies. In addition, Picasso’s rigorous drawings, are communicating
only the basics, simple hieratic composition and strict palette of intense blues. Following
this, in Picasso’s paint there is a popular message. In the painting of the Blind Man’s
Meal, the man’s thing, slightly contorted figure, his long “El Greco” like hands, his
blindness, the unadorned surroundings, and the frugal meal poignantly underscore the
poverty.
Lastly, "The Blind Man's Meal," shows only small differences with the legacy of
Impressionism and is shown here to highlight the changes caused by the developments in
modern art.
Another Movement that was shown in the Barcelona exhibition was the
Noucentisme: The New Classicism. The Neucentisme (literally 1900-ism) This is the first
Catalan art movement of the 20th century, developed as a reaction to the perceived
excesses of Modernism. Coined by the philosopher Eugeni d’Ors in 1906, the term
neocentisme would seem to embrace all the cultural tendencies of the century; in reality,
the artist, architects, and designers associated with the movement focused on
reconnecting with the roots of Catalan civilization by recovering its classical past and
folk traditions. Catalan is the Romance language spoken especially in Catalonia, a region
of northeastern Spain and is also a native or inhabitant of Catalonia. Moreover, the artist
of this movement came to regard Modernism as a foreign aesthetic imported from worth
and artificially grafted onto Catatonia’s natural spirit of logic, order, moderation, and
common sense. During its peak years, about 1911 to 1929, the ideology of Noucentisme
became deeply ingrained in Catalan philosophy, politics, literature, and the visual arts.
It’s adherent’s viewed their activities as part of a longer effort toward establishing the
Catalunya Ciutat (Catalonia City) linking urban and rural areas through newly created
cultural and educational infrastructures. Since Noucentisme was a concept, not an
organization with an official roster of members, the movement’s scope and nature remain
open to interpretation. An artist who belonged in this movement was Joaquin Sunyer, a
quintessential noucentista artist who expressed the timeless values of Mediterranean
civilization by emphasizing clear, rational design and Arcadian imagery. Hre, the
contours of the woman’s body echoes the curves of the landscape, suggesting that she is a
mythic personification of mankind of harmony with nature.
The Barcelona exhibition has shown all the movements that took place in
Barcelona, Spain. Most the paintings the artist made showed important messages such as
things from daily life and things relating it to the political field. Many people still don’t
know much about his movements, but tan exhibitions like this open the minds of the
visitors who want to know art history from Barcelona, Spain. In my personal opinion, the
way the exhibition was organized, made it easier to navigate through every single
movement. The movement that caught my attention was the modernist movement
because Pablo Picasso had great paintings such as the one discussed above. To conclude,
the Barcelona exhibition not only shows the paintings of artists, but it also educates
people at the same time.