The National Museum, or Museu Nacional d'arte de Catalunya is an absolute must if you're visiting Barcelona.
If you aren't excited about their Modern, Gothic, or Baroque collections, the building is reason enough to add this to your sightseeing list.
We walked up to the museum from the base on Parc Montjuic, steadily climbing up the hillside until we rounded a corner to this view...
I can only imagine how impressive it is to walk up through the plaza, which undoubtedly heralds you up to the entrance.
I barely saw the words "Renaissance" and "Baroque" and made a beeline for that collection wing.
Possibly Abbot Arnau di Biure
Gallery after gallery was filled to the brim with altar pieces, busts, sarcophagi, Madonna & Child, famous painters, and so much more — this collection alone could be its own museum.
Mary and Abbot Anthony, Anonymous, 1390
Altarpiece of St. Barbara, Gonçal Peris Sarrià, 1425
Altarpiece of St. Michael and St. Peter, Bernat Despuig, 1433
Virgin of the Consellers, Lluís Dalmau, 1445
Altarpiece of the Passion of Christ, Mestre d'Astorga, 1530
Vittoria Colonna, Sebastiano del Piombo, 1525
When you exit the Renaissance galleries, you enter into a central pavilion, the kind that's perfect for grand exhibitions.
From here we went up to the Modern Art galleries, which are situated around the central cupola.
From Modernism, the Bell Epoche, Art Nouveau, more Gaudí, and political art — these galleries offer a glimpse at more recent social and political history in Spain.
Terraced Village, Joaquim Mir, 1909
The Sculptor, Antoni Fabrés, 1911
Various colored lithographs, 1890s
Carriage Dealers, Bières de la Meuse, Monaco Monte Carlo, Alphonse-Marie Mucha, 1897-1902
Large Ballerina, Pablo Gargallo, 1929
Some of my favorite pieces were in the furniture section — can you imagine having flowers as your sitting chair?!
Furniture by Gaudí, 1906
Trust me, book a ticket for the museum to spend a few hours there on one of your mornings in the city and I'll hope the roof is open for you to catch an incredible view of the city!
Not as drawn to the Renaissance art here. Seems flatter than the Italian Renaissance offerings but I do like the more modern items