Picasso looks at Degas

The Museu Picasso of Barcelona has a unique and very special exhibit going on until January 16. The idea of Picasso davant Degas is this. Paintings of the two great icons are hung side by side. So we can see similar themes and obsessions as well as similarities and differences in style.
Picasso used to say: "When there is anything to steal, I steal". Throughout his work he adapted and commented on many of his great predecessors's works. (Check out for example his cubist "remakes" of Velaquez's Las Meninas at the museum's permanent exhibit.) And Degas was no exception. When Picasso moved to Paris in 1904 he lived in the same neighborhood as Degas.
Although they apparently never met the two revolutionary icons shared many of the same obsessions and were always experimenting with new forms and media which this exhibit explores.
A couple of us from the hotel checked it out yesterday, and we really enjoyed it. Degas of course had his fixation with ballerinas; Picasso picked up theme even before his relationship with Olga Khokhlova, the ballet dancer. Side by side are two glassy-eyed bar scenes and paintings featuring women's hair being brushed. They are eerily similar in some ways, but reveal key differences in style. In fact Picasso based many of his later pieces on works for Degas from his own collection. Interestingly enough Picasso was convinced that Degas resembled his own father and he often painted Degas/father into some of his paintings, especially the voyeuristic ones concerning women. A little strange, maybe. But very interesting.
In any case this is the "first full-scale exploration of Picasso's lifelong fascination with Degas's art and personality" and was organized by Francine Art Museum of Williamstown, Massachusetts and the Picasso Museum of Barcelona. It's definitely worth the visit and is in within easy walking distance from the Hotel Principal.

The MNAC takes the street

The Museum of National Art of Catalunya (MNAC) has turned the streets of Barcelona into a giant outdoor art gallery. From now until the 30th of November you can see exact digital replicas of 33 of great works from the great museum´s permanent collection.
Strolling down the Avenida Diagonal, the Rambla de Catalunya, the Paseo de Gracia, or right across the Ramblas in the Gothic Quarter you can search the walls and nooks and crannies of Barcelona for reproductions of iconic works of Toulouse-Lautrec, Dali, Velazquez, and Picasso and the list goes on and on. It all gives you the feeling of strolling through a large open-air museum.
Our personal favorites here at the hotel are “The tandem bicycle” and “the car”, two emblematic paintings by the great Catalan modernist painter, Ramon Casas. They used to adorn the walls of Els Quatre Gats, one of Picasso's old haunts, and are found near the historic bar-restaurant and very close to the hotel.
The MNAC is in the mood for celebrating; its 75th birthday is the perfect excuse for something really big, like entering into an artistic “dialog with the city.” Providing the technology is HP Latex which developed the cutting-edge printing innovations in nearby San Cugat. Their high-resolution graphics for outdoor display puts them in the vanguard of green technology. It is one of their innovations to reduce our carbon footprint. They've done similar shows in New York and London and now it´s Barcelona's turn.
So come to Barcelona, download the map and check out this innovative exhibit which takes great art right to the streets.
For more info check out here.

Picasso and Erotic Prints from Japan: yet another side to Picasso

“Art and sexuality are the same thing.”--Picasso

You have just two more weeks to go to check out “Secret Images: Picasso and Erotic Prints from Japan” at the Picasso Museum of Barcelona. The official publicity talks about the life-long dialog between the great painter and the erotic tradition in Japan and the exhibit contains 61 major Japanese erotic prints, some of which date back to the 17th century, and Picasso drawings which show their influence. These drawings span the years from when a hungry, young Picasso sold his erotic drawings “on the clandestine market”, as the exhibit puts it, to when he was an established multi-millionaire with the same sexual obsessions.

This is billed as a collection of Japanese prints from Picasso´s private collection but he acquired most of them in 1934 and there is no hard evidence of his owning more than one in his quiet days in Clichy, Paris. But Japan had been introduced into Europe at the end of the 20th century and was certainly in the avant-garde air.

This museum goer was especially interested in the long Japanese tradition of depicting women in compromising positions with octopuses and fish, themes which fascinated both Picasso and Toulouse Lautrec as well as others. So, the exhibit is a little spicy, but Picasso says that “Art is never chaste and should be forbidden to innocents.”

We learn that, unlike in the West, erotica was not at all marginal in Japan. Shungo, as these erotic prints were called were in wide and respectable circulation and were used in sex education dating from 1764. Much of the exhibit is not pornographic; there is an official Picasso poster of Madame Sadayakko, a geisha-trained Japanese artist who was all the rage at the time, and a learned discussion of Japanese print techniques.

Picasso says, “Everything about the East seduces me. The West and its civilization are merely the leftovers from the gigantic loaf that is the East.” You will certainly find something to be seduced by in this exhibit which can be seen alone or together with the permanent museum collection. In any case it shows yet another side of the multi-faceted Spanish genius.

by Michael Oudyn

What to do in Barcelona? (1 of 4 parts)

Time Out has published a special report about Barcelona: 20 things to do in the city. We'll share this information with you in five posts, starting today.


1. Ramble down colourful La Rambla

One of the most famous boulevards in the world, La Rambla is worth a stroll down even if you only have one day in Barcelona. A gateway to rural Catalonia, the mile-long road bustles with tourists, artists, human statues, fortune-tellers, dancers and musicians. Vibrant flower stalls, a cultural and exhibition centre, the superb La Boqueria market, a Joan Miró mosaic, newspaper kiosks and cafés line the street. You may pay a fortune to sip a cola at a roadside café, but the people-watching opportunities will be worth the price.

2. Get up close to Gaudí's grand designs:

In Barcelona, you can gaze in wonder at Gaudí's fairytale architecture. The Sagrada Familia is breathtaking and grotesque by turns. At first glance, it seems as though a careless giant has dripped melting wax over a Gothic cathedral, but a closer look reveals that the protuberances create a stone tapestry of Christ's life. Take the lift to the top for a breathtaking view. Park Güell is a magical place that emulates an English garden city. After seeing the gatehouses, based on designs for the opera Hansel and Gretel, you can walk up a splendid staircase, past a mosaic dragon to what once was a marketplace. Outside, climb to the heights of the park to gaze down at the magnificent panorama.

3. Hit a high note in concert:

Barcelona has its fair share of live music venues, such as Razzmatazz and

Bikini. But there are also marvellous concert halls. The Gran Teatre del Liceu is a spl endid p lace, decorated by gold leaf, plush red carpets and ornate carvings. L'Auditori is a sleek 2,400-seater venue that covers not only classical but also jazz and world music. The Palau de la Música Catalana is celebrated for its Modernista architecture, and sheer volume of musical activity. There are a cluster of music events, like the Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona.

4. Picture the city of Picasso's youth:

Picasso remembered Barcelona as beautiful and bright, a city where he spent his early years. Follow in the footsteps of the artistic genius by visiting the landmarks that shaped his youth. Stroll along the Calle Reina Christina and then cross over to 3 Carrer de la Mercè to see where his family lived, though the building was later destroyed. For a break, stop by the Els Quatre Gats, a café frequented by Catalonia's fin-de-siècle avant-garde. Then, head straight to the Museu Picasso , a gallery that records Picasso's formative years.

5. Pick up a platter at a pintxo bar:

Picking on pintxos, platters of bite-sized food served on bread (a Basque version of tapas), is a popular culinary trend in Barcelona. Tradition calls for you to pick at the food with toothpicks, and at the end of the night you will be charged for the number of toothpicks that you have used. The Old Town Basque house Euskal Etxea invites you to savour dainty little croissants filled with jamón serano, chicken tempura with saffron mayonnaise, melted provolone with mango and ham, or a mini-brochette of pork and peppers.

Share with us:
Have you been in Barcelona? What would be your "top 5" of things to do/see here?

Picasso's places

We all know that Pablo Picasso spent his formative artistic years in Barcelona. El museu Picasso, the “museum to visit in Barcelona”, is located on the picturesque, aristocratic Carrer Montcada. The great Andalusian´s work is displayed in chronological order. And what a fascinating trip it is: drawings he made as an eight-year old, realistic portraits painted as a teenager, some masterpieces of the rose and blue periods, and so on.
And we at the hotel have just learned is that upon his return from Paris in 1901 Picasso lived just down the street at number 28 where, inspired by the bohemian atmosphere of the Raval, he painted many of his blue-period masterpieces. Today there is a nice little restaurant, La Biblioteca, at that address.


And speaking of eating places associated with Picasso try the iconic Els 4 Gats (The four cats). This Modernist landmark café was founded in 1897 to recreate the atmosphere of bohemian Paris and be a meeting place for Spain´s avant garde. Designed by Gaudi disciple Puig I Cadafalch Els 4 gats is now world famous because of Picasso who was a regular and had one of his first one-man shows there.


Here we would like to introduce our own painter Ferran Amezqueta. As you will remember paintings are found everywhere in the hotel: in the rooms, in the common sitting rooms, and especially on the ceiling of the breakfast room. These are originals by Ferran who is a cousin of the owner which helps the family and artistic feel of the hotel.

Els Quatre Gats

This café/restaurant/bar was one of Picassos's favorites, and now is like a step back in time; it keeps its legacy of art reunions, literary conversations, and exhibits of young painters.





While you eat, you will enjoy live piano and violin music, and then complete your trip to the last days of the 19th century.





Located close to the Catalunya metro station at Carrer Montsió, 3 bis, they feature a special dinner menu. Reserving a table is a good idea.



Phone +34 933 02 41 40