Picasso Museum and Barri Gòtic

I seem to be visiting all the things I did not get to see the last two times I was in Barcelona. One of these is the Picasso Museum in Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter). Ori and I tried seeing it back in 2013, but once we were foiled by it being a Monday (why are things closed on Mondays? Tourists don’t care about days of the week!), and when we went back a couple of days later, assured it would be open, it was closed because of a holiday, May 1st, or, as it’s known in the whole world except North America, Labour Day. Again, we were on holidays, not really paying attention to dates all that much, so we missed out. I was determined to not let that happen again.

I took the bus down to Plaça de Catalunya ready for some roaming around Barri Gòtic and the museum. Walking around this neighbourhood feels very familiar now: I have spent quite a bit of time in the past roaming the narrow streets, and this time, as well, mostly looking for that one elusive bookstore I know is there but always hiding from me. I don’t understand why I didn’t permanently record its location after the last visit … it wouldn’t have been difficult … but here it was again, impossible to find. When I do locate it, you will understand my obsession with it … it’s such a cool bookstore, with nooks and crannies that seemingly go on forever, and of course tonnes of books. I remember buying my Castellano-Catalan dictionary there so I know it exists, or used to. Alas, I did not find it this time. It would fill me with great sadness to know it’s closed its doors forever.

Unperturbed, however, I headed to the Picasso Museum which was, yay, open! The entry price was reasonable but I did get suckered into purchasing the audio tour guide, which, later, I found was a huge waste of €5 … I swear it was geared to dumb tourists who don’t know what a nun looks like; I could stand only so much of the guide talking down to me, and gave up. The museum itself is housed in five former palaces, dating back to the XIII-XV centuries which means it’s massive in size. It also holds one of the largest collections of Picasso’s works. Picasso spent most of his formative years in Barcelona and always had a very close connection to the city; it is no wonder so much of his art is on display here. The most famous picture here is Picasso’s take on Las Meninas, the Velázquez masterpiece. I found the main Meninas painting rather dull, to be honest, but that’s because, in stark contrast to the other 57 versions of it, it’s so monochromatic. Picasso painted a whole series of 58 studies of Las Meninas and most of them are exquisite, full of colour and life. I took a bunch of photos of them, too, but now, as I was getting photos ready for the gallery, I’ve discovered they’re all gone from my phone. I’m sure I didn’t imagine photographing them but here were are. In lieu of my shots, you can find them all here.

I do love Picasso’s work. I know he wasn’t a very nice man and all that, a bit of a misogynist and generally an asshole (though not everyone thought so: I submit for your consideration this song by the Modern Lovers), there is something in his art that I find fascinating. There is incredible beauty in his massive masterpieces such as Guernica but also in the simple line drawing of Lump, the dog. (Loesha, I think you will appreciate Lump! Also, in Polish, lump means old piece of clothing) Whatever he was or wasn’t, Picasso had range. There were so many things in the museum gift shop I would have bought had I the money or space in my luggage! I ended up buying a bookmark (of course) and a postcard. Note to self: don’t buy souvenirs yet, you’ll have to carry them for a whole year!

It was now time to walk about Barri Gòtic a bit more. After finding a hidden little plaza and a very thirst-quenching clarita, I stumbled onto a neighbourhood market, Mercat de Santa Caterina, with its stalls full of fish, meats, and vegetables, and a very cool roof. Not as big as the famous Mercado de la Boqueria, it did seem a lot more inviting. I did pop into la Boqueria before heading home, but I always seem to arrive there when half the stalls are already closed and I’m never actually interested in buying anything so it feels like a waste of time. I’d love to shop at markets like these daily for my groceries but, alas, I’m in no position to cook right now anyway.

My path now took me to more traditional (and touristy) environs, such as the Barcelona Cathedral, Plaça Nova, and the still-busy-but-not-as-usual Rambla. I did poke my head into Palau de la Virreina, a cultural events palace, where there was a very interesting exposition on Susan Sontag’s On Photography exposition. And it was free! Next door I also spotted a place my dear friend Jinhwa would most likely walk into. Not wanting to be tempted by things that weighed, I just took a photo.

Picasso Museum

Barri Gòtic