The MNAC

       The MNAC( Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunya) sits on top of Montjuic, in Placa Espanya. From the balcony at the front entrance, is a fantastic view of the city. The plaza is a mere strip, and the apartments in the area look like multicolored shoe boxes. The MNAC contains Gothic, Romanesque, Baroque and Renaixament art.

Romanesque art.

Circle of the master of Pedret, The apostles of Ager, Thaddeus and James
End of 11th century to the beginning of the 12th
Fresco transfered to canvas

                                      Even though there  are holes in this fresco it is amazing how much of it is still intact. These holy figures are clearly defined by the spheres of light behind their heads.

Circle of the Master of Pedret, Apse of El Burgal,
End of 11th century, beginning of 12th.
Fresco transferred to canvas

                                                                         Gothic Art

                        Virgin, Second half of the 14th century. Carved alabaster,
with the remains of polychrome and gold leaf

                                          Even though Christ is depicted as a child his face has an older composure. The Virgin has her traditional look of sadness, as she sees her son's ultimate fate. With Gothic Art, the artist focuses on giving images a more natural look, the Virgin's garment is carved so it looks like it is draped in delicate folds.

Descent of Christ into limbo,
Bartolome Bermejo, Cordoba.
Oil and gilding on wood, c. 1475

                                              In this painting, the artist echos techniques used during the Romanesque period. Many if the figures have those same almond shaped eyes, and all the old men have similar expressions. Each figure has a bloated stomach as well.

Factitious group with the deposition of Christ and the road to cavalry,
 Anonomous, made in Germany
Wood carving with polychrome gold leaf

While the artist uses similar styles to depict each person, they each have an individual expression or gesture. It is amazing how the artist was able to carve each nose and finger to from a vessel of grief for this moment.

                                                                           Modern Art

 Lucretia,
Damía Campeny
Rome, 1803
Cast bronze.

There are many different versions of the woeful story of Lucretia. One version, describes how the princes Titus, Aruns Brutus, Sextus and Tarquin of Collotia  were feasting, discussing who had the worthiest wife. The went to Rome to spy on their wives and see what they were doing. Three of them enjoying a meal with friends or cheating on the husbands. The third, Lucretia was still mourning the abcsense of her husband, Tarquin. Sextus, jealous of his cousin's pure wife, returned a few days later. He  took advantage of Lucretia's gracious hospitality and forced himself on her. Lucretia was  devestated by her impurity. When her husband arrived, she told him what Sextus had done and demanded they seek revenge. But she felt extreme guilt herself and claimed her own life, saying "I too must share in the punishment of this deed, lest any should think that they may be false to their husbands and live."

I find it interesting that even though Sextus's assault on Lucretia is clearly not her fault, she still feels guilty. During this time period, cheating on your husband was a severe crime, one that it seems was often followed by a death sentence. This story and sculpture is a reflection of the ideals upheld during this time, in regards to how women should behave. Some versions of the story say that the other wives were not necessarily cheating on their husbands. They were not sitting in the dark working on a garment and so they were not considered to be faithful wives.

Spanish Food: Churros con Xocolata

Churros con xocolata is a very traditional part of Spanish culture. The churros in the states are generally smothered in butter and sugar, but these churros are plain tubes of pastry that are dipped into a heavy cup of chocolate for a delicious treat. This dish is generally eaten in the morning but can also be eaten at all times of the day. This food is one of the things that bridges the gap between Spanish and Catalan culture.

Catalan Culture: La Mercé

  
      This holiday is one of the biggest holidays in Barcelona. A weekend of celebrating is dedicated to the city’s patron saint, La Mercé. First there is a parade with the giants,(  huge puppets representing people from history or folklore  that are considered to be important_) Castellers, the corofouque, and a grand finale of an amazing firework show on that Sunday. There were also concerts throughout the weekend free of cost. The two events I found to be the most interesting were the Castellers and Corofouque. 
When asked what it meant to be Catalan, many people replied that Castellers were a pivotal part of their culture. Castellers are people who train for the entire year to put on performances where different teams will compete to see who can make the strongest, tallest human pyramid. The pyramid begins  at the bottom. There is a domino-like effect  made up of about ten people deep. Each person is supporting the person in front of them, creating a circle of support. The first layer is not standing on the lower level’s shoulder, rather their weight is distributed through many supporting hands.The next layer of the pyramid consists of 8 or so people standing. They create a circle with their arms and brace themselves as the next group of people climb up their backs. Everyone has special handkerchiefs tied around their waist, to make it easier for the climbers to get onto their shoulders. I also noticed that many of the castellers wore bandanas, possibly to prevent their hair from getting pulled. While the Pyramids are being built no one is supposed to talk. The scattered comments are shushed and everyone waits for at least two levels to be built before the crowd erupts into cheers and music is played. It seems that if you cheer before the pyramid has any levels, it can be bad luck and jinx the pyramid's success. 
The last person to climb to the tip-top of the pyramid is a child generally 3-5 years old. They wear helmets as a safety precaution, but my heart jumps a little every time a pyramid collapses.

Girls peer on as the pyramid slowly grows

The second layer struggles to maintain their positions as the next layer scrambles upwards

A young casteller breaks the one rule, of climbing high structures. Don't look down!

This girl was sitting on her dad's shoulder's waving frantically, cheering on the castellers.  Towards the end a burly mustached Casteller came up to her, reached up and placed a sticker that said "Casteller'. This is a picture of how excited she was to be an honorary casteller. 

This is not an American sport. Castellers cheer on members of their own team, as well as other teams. This is a sport that emphasizes community, and shared goals. One of the Castellers is also holding the traditional Catalan horn.

A young Casteller  stops for a moment looking  out at the crowd, before continuing on with the climb

Stilt walkers parade down the street furling their beautifully colored outfits

Children playing with the discarded confetti 

A moonfaced figure shakes hands with a little boy

Singers  at La Ciutadella

  Although Corofoque is relatively new, it is a large  event in Barcelona. It used to be an event for the whole family, but now there is a tamer event for children to experience. Hundreds of people gather, to be chases by demons through the gates of hell. On Gran Via a gate has been built, connected both sides of the street. At 8:00 an explosion of red fireworks erupt and a diabolic voice sounds over  loudspeakers. Figures are also walking around in monster costumes lighting fireworks in the middle of crowds. Everyone is packed together like sardines so that if you want to break free of the mass, it is like pulling away from a magnet. You are always getting pulled the opposite direction of where you want to go.

Fire fighters lined up in case someone happens to catch on fire.

Fireworks explode during corofoque

Fireworks to end the celebrations

Grand Finale

Catalan Culture: Picasso Museum, Degas Exhibit

The exhibit shows us Picasso's fascination with Edgar Degas's work. Picasso and Degas  were interested in capturing the everyday life in their paintings. They both  depicted subjects such as bored ballerinas and washerwomen from a hidden angle, rarely do their works of art look posed. Rather each painting and sculpture appears as if the subjects are frozen in a moment in time. As you can see in the images shown below, Picasso will take themes from Degas's work and give them his own interpretation. 

                                In the Painting 'Absinth drinker in a bar', Degas uses soft shading and pastel shades to create this simple moment. The man beside the woman, is not the focus of the image, and there is a clear disconnect between the two figures. In Picasso's interpretation of this theme, he uses neon blues and bright whites, the stark opposite of Degas's palette. The woman has same lidded expression of boredom as in Degas's piece. While the man maintains the same facial features as the one in Degas's painting, he is now looking straight at the viewer, rather than away from the woman. While Degas's painting is an unobtrusive study of a moment, Picasso's subjects are aware of the viewer in an almost startling way.

                                 Another theme Picasso found intriguing was that of a girl getting her hair done. While the palette in Degas's images is brighter, blending the background with the girl's red hair, it is still more muted than Picasso's cubist interpretation.

In Degas's painting the girl's mouth is a small line and her brows are furrowed, while and she is holding her head.  Her expression could possible be due to the pain felt at having her hair yanked by the other woman. In Picasso's image, the girl's eyes and mouth are also closed, possibly also in a gesture of pain. This time however, the girl is doing her own hair, the second woman is eliminated. She isinflicting pain upon herself. Both images seem to expression an emotion of pain, but each artist uses a different technique to catch the  viewer's eye and demonstrate this.

Food:Spanish Tortilla

Spanish Tortilla is a key food in Spanish culture. Similar to paella, this food was traditionally a way of using up the weeks food, since there was no fridge for storing leftovers. While there is a basic recipe for Spanish tortilla, each has its own taste. These are made with Zucchinis, onions and mushrooms. While it is not hard to make, Spanish tortilla  does take a long time to make. When my host mom makes this dish for us, she starts it in the late morning and it is not ready until the late afternoon.

 

Food:La Champagneria

La Champaneria is a unique place. There isn't a sign on the door, and it is not in any guidebook, so it is the sort of place you find out about through word of mouth. When you walk in, the left hand side has stacks of emerald green bottles and on the ceiling are  hanging slabs of meat. This Tapas bar is standing room only but the prices are very cheap. They sell regular cava and cava roset. Cava roset is a bit sweeter than the regular kind, a bit like a bubbley liquid form of a sweet raspberry jam. There are many different types of Tapa sandwhiches, but my favorite is camembert cheese with ham. It is served on a fist sized brown toasted roll, so it is a bit of a struggle to take a bite without letting the cheese run down your face.  The cava is almost poured over the edge of the glass, so carrying your glass from the bar to to the wooden ledge  about 5 feet away is treacherous. Many times I have seen a guy grab his glass once he was served and to his dismay he was sloshed in the face with half his drink. 

Once you have finished your cava and bocadillo, their cheese cake is a taste treat. Unlike the cheesecake in the United States, the main ingredient is not cream cheese. Rather than being heavy and creamy, it is light and spoungey, with a slightly browned and crispy top.

Before 2:00p.m the bar is mostly filled with tourists but after 2:00 people working in the area will come bustling in and you have to shout over the crowd to get your order in. Even though the bar is crowded the bartenders always know what you ordered, right before you ask for the check. There aren't really places like this in the U.S In the states, you either get food to-go and have to pay before you eat, or sit down at a table and pay after you have eaten your relaxed meal. This is sort of a combination of a quick bit to eat but with a restaurant like atmosphere.

Boqueria

Piles of exotic or out of season fruit glisten as you walk past, tempting you with their taste. Fresh smoothies, and baked goods also draw in the unexperienced tourist. If you buy the first thing you see you will be wasting your money. In order find affordable and still delicious foods you have to be willing to walk through the maize like design of La Boqueria. 

The Boqueria is unlike any other market. The layout of the market is centered around the fish section with aisles of fruit, vegetables, meat  and cheese branching off of it. The closer a fruit stand is to the fish the cheeper it is going to be. When buying a fish, it is important to buy one that still has its head and eyes intact. Without the head it is much harder to determine how fresh the fish is because the head is always the first to wrought. The architecture has a 19th century design  of glass and iron, referencing the industrial revolution.