Barcelona is a city with infinite possibilities. It has wonderful beaches, beautiful hills, the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the city and the charm of surrounding villages. But Barcelona is even more than that. The Catalan capital is synonym of culture, art and tradition.

In fact, Barcelona was the heart of the modernistic movement in the lasts times of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century. But it also was the home of different cultural and artistic movements such as Impressionism, Cubism or Surrealism, represented at its highest level by Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí, two of the greatest personalities of art in Barcelona.

Presence in Barcelona

Pablo Picasso is an important figure in the city of Barcelona. In fact, we can find Picasso Museum in El Born neighborhood, where many of their works are exhibited. The museum is just two streets away from this bohemian studio. Another example of importance of Picasso in Barcelona is the existence of a street with his name near Ciutadella Park, where we can find a tribute monument to the famous painter from Málaga.

On the other hand, there are not streets or statues dedicated to Dalí in Barcelona, but we can find a museum in the beautiful house he used to live in Figueres (Girona).

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso, father of Cubism, was born in 1881 in Málaga, where he lived during his childhood. Since the very first moment, it was clear he was a genius. He started to paint when he was 8 years old and their works were exhibited for first time when he was only 13.

In 1894, his family and himself moved to Barcelona, where he lived for 9 years. Picasso used to visit a bar called Els Quarter Gats, where many of the most important personalities of art and politics met.

The period between 1901 and 1904 is known as Blue Period of Picasso, because this color strongly predominates in his works. In these paintings, he expressed pessimism, pain and sadness due to the difficulties he suffered during those times. Those years, Picasso was constantly travelling to Paris and he worked really hard. He used to paint 1 or 2 paintings each night!

In 1904, Picasso decided he had to move permanently to France in order to be known abroad. After that, he created a new painting style together with the painter George Braque: Cubism.

Cubism is considered the base of all avant-garde styles during the 20^th century.

Salvador Dalí

Dalí was born in Figueres (Girona) in 1904. His work was inspired by modernistic artists like Gaudí and traditional painters such as Velázquez, Rafael or Vermeer.

He lived in many cities: Madrid, Paris, New York, but he never lived in Barcelona. He just stayed in Catalonia his lasts years of life.

His work is described as Surrealistic and Dadaist, always in opposition to reality and established laws and styles. Dalí was a characteristic person and many people argue that his personality was part of its art and its work.

He was a huge fan of Picasso and they met in Paris in 1920. Dalí gave Picasso a typical piece of pastry from Majorca as present and commented that he had gone to visit him before the Louvre Museum.

His most famous painting, The Persistence of Memory, represents several melting watches and is known all around the world. Dalí collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney in the development of some films, and he also designed the logo of Chupa-Chups.