Wednesday October 14 was another sunny day with a high of 22C. The days start a bit cooler, but with the sun, the temperature warms up quickly and the afternoons are beautiful.
We headed to our destination, the Palazzo Albergati, to see an exhibition: Da Gaudí A Picasso, Capolavori della Collezione Carmen Thyssen (From Gaudi to Picasso, Masterpieces from the Carmen Thyssen Collection). Presented for the first time anywhere in the world, the Carmen Thyssen Collection makes its debut in Bologna, bringing over 100 masterpieces to the city. It covers the period from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s, when Barcelona became the heart of modernity. These works will ultimately be displayed in the new Carmen Thyssen Museum that will open in Barcelona in 2028.
The Palazzo was in a part of town we hadn't yet explored. Lots of beautiful porticoes along the way. The porticoes of Bologna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are 62 km long of which 40 km are in the city centre. Ever since 1100, when the growth of the University led to the need for new urban spaces, the porticoes became locations where people could socialize and trade. There are many different types of porticoes- wooden, wide, narrow, some with painted ceilings, many different colours.
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| Walking through the porticoes in a lovely part of town |
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| We passed a closed coffee shop with a mirror and a great slogan: Livin' La Vida Moka-we would return for a coffee later in the afternoon. |
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| More colourful porticoes |
On the way, we passed a building with two stolpersteine (stumbling stones) which memorialize victims of Nazi persecution during WII. As of 2026, over 116,000 stones have been laid across 31 European countries. The project was conceived and initiated in 1992 by the German artist Gunter Demnig. We have encountered them in our European travels. We have only seen a few this trip.
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| Apartment building with stolpersteine outside |
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Edourdo Davide Bigiavi (b. 1874, arrested 21.4. 1944, interred at Fossoli, deported Auschwitz, murdered 23.5.1944 and Evelina Sacerdoti Bigiavi (b. 1880), same dates as her husband.
We passed a building where the film director Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) lived between 1936 and 1942. The plaque was put up in 2022.
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| Pasolini lived here! |
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Poet, writer, director. "As time goes by, life in Bologna settles into the murky depths-clear and joyful- and I feel a deep sense of longing." Passolini, 1952 (Google translation).
We arrived at Palazzo Albergati to see the exhibit. The Palazzo is located on Via Saragozza. Construction began in 1519 to house the Albergati family. It features an imposing facade that took on its definitive form in the first decade of the 17th century and also has frescoes from the 17th and 18th centuries. Restoration work was required after it was damaged by a fire in 2008.
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| Outside the Palazzo |
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| Inner courtyard before the start of the exhibition. |
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| One of the posters for the exhibit |
The introduction to the exhibit noted that "at the end of the 19th century, Barcelona awakens, the city grows through industrialization and the port becomes one of the main engines of development. Artists sense that something is shifting: a new way of observing the world. The first works in the exhibit are rooted in realism but capture the changing city. With the new century the transformation gains momentum and the legendary Quatre Gats café is a meeting place for artists to exchange ideas. New paths lead to Barcelona fully entering the avant-garde and becoming part of an international artistic landscape". The new Museum Carmen Thyssen Barcelona is being created with the aim of presenting Barcelona's contribution to modern and contemporary visual culture.
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| Each of the beginning rooms had these Gaudì- like mirrors and stained glass features |
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| Santiagó Rusiñol (1861-1931), The Wayside Cross, 1892. The notes say that although it depicts an apparently insignificant subject, it is conceptually ambitious. Rather than presenting a picturesque view of Stiges, the painter gives prominence to an empty road. The reflection of the cross and the dog pay tribute to a friend of his who died recently in Stiges |
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| Ramon Pichot (1871-1925), Three Friends, 1896. Pichot was a significant figure in the artistic exchanges between Barcelona and Paris around 1890. A friend of Nonell, Canals, Mir and Picasso in the circle of Els Quatre Gats, he moved to Paris. This post-impressionist piece featured rich colour and brushstrokes. |
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| Antoni Utrillo (1867-1944), Centauride, 1904 |
The Modernisme movement in Barcelona developed mainly between the Universal Exposition of 1888 and the first decade of the 20th century, coinciding with the construction of the city's Eixample district.
The figure who internationally symbolises Catalan Modernisme is Antoni Gaudí (Reus 1852-Barcelona, 1926). Gaudí developed a language based on the observation of nature, structural experimentation and an organic conception of space. He also was innovative in his use of certain materials such as broken ceramic tiles, and wrought iron. Architecture was used as a means of social representation commissioned by the new bourgeoisie that went beyond their utilitarian function to became true artistic statements.
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| Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), Trencadís medallion from Park Güell, 1904. Mortar made of Lime, Sand and Cement with Ceramic Fragments. |
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| Casa Batlló was built between 1904-1906, commissioned by the industrialist Josep Batlló. It is found on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia. The building is distinguished by its organic forms. The dining-room chair shown stands out as one of the most innovative examples of modern design. Through a careful study of posture and bodily support, Gaudí succeeded in creating an exceptionally comfortable seat. |
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| Joan Cardona (1877-1958), Young Parisian Women, Undated |
Quartre Gats (or 4 Gats) was a famous tavern that opened in June 1897 on the ground floor of a Neo- Gothic building. The name derives from the Catalan expression "ésser quartre gats", meaning that very few people have gathered in a place or at an event. The tavern closed in 1903. It had been inspired by Le Chat Noir, in Montmartre, and served as a cultural link between Paris and Barcelona. Picasso held his first solo exhibition there in 1900. It was one of the principal centres of artistic life in turn-of-the-century Barcelona fostering exchanges between different generations of artists, artistic disciplines and international influences.
Santiago Rusiñol said, [Quatre Gats was] that picturesque place full of dreams that frightened the petty bourgeois; those paintings on the walls that the girls of the household were not allowed to go and see because they like them too much; that pipe smoke that intoxicated the café's patrons with ideas.
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| Pablo Picasso, Menu of Quatre Gats, 1899 |
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| Alonso in the room with a café set up |
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| Videos in the room with the café |
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| Celso Lagar (1891-1955), Conversation on the Street, c. 1915. |
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| Joaquim Sunyer (1874-1956), Portrait of the Painter Cano, 1916. |
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| Olga Sacharoff (Tbilisi, Georgia,1889-Barcelona, 1967), Untitled (Woman with a Fan), c 1915. After moving to Paris in 1908, Olga Sacharoff came into contact with the early avant-garde and absorbed Cubist approaches to form and space. She returned to Barcelona with the outbreak of WWI. |
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Enric Cristófol Ricart (1893-1960), Portrait of Joan Miró, 1916. Ricart was a Catalan artist and a close friend of Joan Miró with whom he shared a studio for a while.
He was associated with the Noucentisme movement.
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| Josep de Togores (1893-1970, René with the cat, 1920. Following an initial stay in Paris from 1907 until the outbreak of WWI, the artist returned there is 1920, immersing himself in the circles of Montparnasse and connecting with Picasso, Gris, Modigliani and Braque. He signed an exclusive contract with Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler's gallery which made him one of the Catalan painters with the greatest international reach during the 1920s. |
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| Joan Miró (1893-1983), Woman and Dog Before the Moon, 1935. |
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Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Head of Dora Maar, June 1943.
Dora Maar, a painter and photographer was Picasso's lover from 1936-43.
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Pablo Picasso, Self Portrait, 1967. There was a quote from Picasso on the wall:
[Barcelona], It was there that it all began. It was there that I realized how far I could go. |
The last picture in the exhibit was that of Baroness Carmen Thyssen (b. Barcelona, 1943). Her passion for art grew alongside her husband Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921-2002), heir to one of the great private art collections of the 20th century, which is now an essential part of the Museo Nacional Thyssen- Bornemisza in Madrid. Over the years, Carmen Thyssen has built her own collection. Her collection of modern Catalan paintings will be the heart of the future Museo Carmen Thyssen Barcelona.
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| Mercedes Lasarte (b. Argentina, 1940), Portrait of Carmen Thyssen, 2022 |
We both really enjoyed the exhibit and the focus on Barcelona in a time of great artistic development. There were many works that we had not seen before and a number of Catalan artists we did not know.
After the exhibit, we stopped at Barbarossa, the Caffè we had passed on our way to the Palazzo. It was a beautifully designed small space. We had a nice chat with the barista. They roast their own beans at a roaster a few streets away. This was their first retail coffee shop. The coffee was excellent and we purchased some beans. Their espresso cups came with a lovely porcelain top. We would have bought some cups, but they were only selling ones without the tops.
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Arty shot of us enjoying our coffee. Porcelain top beside the espresso cup-
what a great idea to keep the coffee warm for a bit longer. |
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| Definitely livin' La Vida Moka |
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| More graffiti on the way back to the apartment. |
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| Lovely park just a few steps from our apartment building. |
We went back to the apartment to rest and then have dinner.
Chef Alonso made a delicious dinner of dorade with potatoes, green beans and artichokes.
A quieter day in Bologna, exploring a new neighbourhood and a wonderful museum. On Thursday October 15, we are heading to Ravenna for another day trip. I'm keepin' on with the blog, but at a slower pace. Hang in there!
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