Week 9: International Pavilions

United States' pavilion, 1888. Image from www.todocoleccion.net, posted by Pandorashop.

The Exposició Universal de 1888 did not include official pavilions for visiting nations separate from the central fair buildings. Many nations had their own sections or pavilions within the fair buildings themselves, the largest of which were in the Gran Palau de la Indústria (Grand Palace of Industry), the fair's biggest building. There were, however, separate buildings for private businesses or corporations, which sometimes purported to represent certain countries. I will here present the distinctions between nations' official portrayals of themselves and their portrayals by others, using as examples two American exhibits (the official hall and the American Soda Water pavilion) and two Philippine exhibits (the official hall and the pavilion of the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas).

Philippines' pavilion, 1888. Image from www.todocoleccion.net, posted by Pandorashop.

The official representations of both the United States and the Philippines, at that time a Spanish colony, are fairly similar. The Philippines' space is smaller, and thus more cramped-looking, but both are fairly organized exhibitions of each political entity. Both halls, presumably, display the best of each territory, organized to educate visitors to that end. From a design standpoint, they are not remarkable.

American Soda Water pavilion, 1888. Image from www.urbanity.es, posted by Juanjo.

The American Soda Water pavilion and the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas (a Spanish company) pavilion, in contrast to the official ones, portray each land in a very different light. The American Soda Water pavilion is modest but stately, and up-to-date with the latest styles in Beaux-Arts architecture. It does not put forward much of an image of America besides that of a nation very much in line with those of Europe at the time. The Tabacos de Filipinas pavilion, on the other hand, represents the Philippines in a manner much less dignified than the official display: the pavilion is a large waterside hut made of wood and thatch, which is remarkably out of place with the rest of the fair's pavilions and buildings. This depiction of the Philippines would have undoubtedly helped rationalize Spanish colonization and commercial exploitation of the isles.

Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas pavilion, 1888. Image from www.urbanity.es, posted by Juanjo.

Week 8: Ground Plan

"Plano General de la Exposición Universal de Barcelona." From Exposición Universal de Barcelona, 1888: Catálogo Oficial, especial de España.

The ground plan of the 1888 Exposició Universal owes its form to the extant urban framework more than to any other source. The majority of the Exposition took place in the recently constructed Parc de la Ciutadella, with an adjacent grand avenue serving as the main entrance axis leading into the park. With the exception of the symbolic destruction of the ruins of the monarchist fortress in the park's center to make way for new structures (which would have likely happened regardless of the Exposition), the plan of the park itself was not altered. Some buildings that were already there were used for the Exposition (the Museu Martorell and the Umbracle, for example), while new buildings were built in places logical given the park's preëxisting layout. Given this lack of intervention in creating the fair's ground plan, the most fruitful examinations lie in discussions of the few changes to the park that were made, and the locations of specific buildings relative to each other and to the overall plan.

"Plano General de la Exposición Universal de Barcelona, Setiembre 1887-Abril 1888." From Exposició Universal 1888: Diari Oficial de l'Exposició, volume I, via Arxiu Municipal Contemporani de Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona. Note that the dates given are the predicted ones, not the actual ones; this does not depict the final plan of the Exposition itself.

One of the major changes to accommodate the fair was, as mentioned above, the destruction of the last remaining ruins of the Ciutadella, the fortress built after Barcelona's conquest in 1714 to repress the citizenry and demolished to make way for the park after the Revolution of 1868. Earlier plans of the fair, made during preparatory stages, clearly denote a space in the center for the "restos de la Ciudadela" (ruins of the Ciutadella).

The ruins of the Ciutadella, before the Exposition. From El Pais.

However, by the opening of the fair what was left of the Ciutadella had been replaced with a "fuente mágica" (magic fountain) and various pavilions representing government services: "jurados" (judges), "correos" (mail), "sanitario" (health), and "bodegas" (storehouses or possibly wineries), along with a larger "pabellón real" (royal pavilion). As powerful a symbol as the destruction of the Ciutadella and its replacement with a public park and an Exposition promoting Catalonia was for the people of Barcelona, powerful, too, is the central location of Spanish state pavilions on the site of its remains. This may have been a symbolic victory won by the central government; a demand in exchange for supporting the fair financially after private organizers and the city of Barcelona failed to come up with the money to spare the city and nation embarrassment without intervention. Though the fair should have been almost entirely focused on Catalonia, it was the buildings of the Spanish central government that stood in the park's center, directly in front of the main attraction: the enormous Palau de la Indústria (Palace of Industry).

Antoni Gaudí. Pavilion of the Companyia Transatlàntica. From Wikimedia Commons.

The other major innovation as far as the ground plan itself was concerned was the addition of a smaller section on the waterfront, connected to the park by a bridge that spanned the railroad tracks. This had been a very marginalized area of Barcelona, severed from the rest of the city by the train tracks. The Exposition literally bridged that divide, reconnecting the city with the sea. This, too, was symbolic, as Barcelona's maritime prowess had decreased greatly over the previous centuries—the transition of the focus of global trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic from the 16th century on, and the Mediterranean dominance of the Ottomans and their sanctioned pirates meant that Barcelona was no longer at one of Europe's (or even Spain's) most advantageous commercial nodes. This waterfront section, too, can be seen as figurative attempt to reclaim and reconquer Catalonia's glorious past, just as the Parc de la Ciutadella was.

The locations of the fair's buildings are also telling. As mentioned above, the Spanish state's buildings were in the middle of the park, quite possibly as a condition of its financial support. The waterfront section, logically, housed naval buildings and those of maritime companies such as the Companyia Transatlàntica, whose temporary pavilion was designed by Antoni Gaudí. The Palaces of Science and Fine Arts stood opposite each other on either side of the Saló de Sant Joan, the main entrance avenue, with the Agricultural Palace along the main avenue running perpendicular and along the park. These, clearly, were considered by the planners to be among the most important structures. The most important, however, was the Palau de la Indústria, a massive hall devoted to industrial exhibitions from all over Spain and around the world. The largest structure by far, the fan-shaped Palau de la Indústria was located just before the bridge to the waterfront, at the end of the park farthest from the main entrance: it was meant to be the culminating moment of the visitor's experience, an awesome display of Catalonia's and Spain's industrial potential (indeed, the Spanish government was given the most centrally located hall).

To see the plan of the Exposició Universal de Barcelona in a broader urban context, see: http://worldmap.harvard.edu/maps/660

Week 7: Art, Music, Film, Performance, Literature

One of the major events that took place during the Exposició Universal was the celebration of the Jocs Florals (often written "Jochs Florals" in the orthography of the time; literally, "Floral Games"), a poetry competition with its roots in the Occitan and Provençal troubadour tradition of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries but revived in 1859. The reëstablishment of the Jocs Florals was a key component of the renaixença, a movement of romantic revivalism of traditional Catalan culture, which was particularly important given the cultural repression of the central Spanish government at the time. The Jocs Florals were broadly supported by Barcelona's leading political and cultural figures, as well as by the rising bourgeois élite. By the end of the 1880s, however, the atavistic and archaizing spirit of the Jocs Florals was seen by many as contrary to the progressive, modernistic spirit that was gripping the city and the region, pushing it into a prosperous and industrially advanced twentieth century. The Jocs Florals stood for the eclectic culture of the region's past, driven by diverse influences, without a standardized spelling or linguistic norms; those at the vanguard of culture, looking forward, saw that phase as completed, and a new one of unified language and regional identity as the proper way forward. Nevertheless, the Jocs Florals were still celebrated for their importance to Catalan identity, and were a key component of the festivities of 1888.

The Jocs Florals at the 1888 Exposició Universal. Source: Solà, Joan. "Els Jocs Florals i el Congrés Pedagògic de 1888."

In 1888, two competitions of Jocs Florals were held. Traditionally the competition took place on the first Sunday in May, but the city's mayor pushed the official contest back to the 27th so it could take place at the exposition. Some of the more ardent nationalists including Valentí Almirall staged a separate competition on the first Sunday of the month at the Teatre Novetats, while the official contest, the thirtieth of the modern era, took place in the exposition's Palau de les Belles Arts on the 27th.

The winner of the "Gaia Festa" was Mossèn Collell, whose poem Sagramental was a patriotic anthem:

"People who deserve to be free,

if they don't give it to you, take it...

Catalans, the time has come

to shout as brothers:

drive them out! drive them out!

for the freed homelands." [1]

Poems such as this were accompanied by lectures and discussions promoting the Catalan language and its culture. This was certainly an act of defiance, or at the very least a strong assertion of independence, as the "queen" of the festivities, who presided, was the actual Queen Regent of Spain, Maria Cristina (this was another reason Almirall and others held their own separate Jocs Florals). [2] Nevertheless, the Jocs Florals supported Barcelona's and Catalonia's identity not just in their existence and tradition but in their controversial and defiant content, too.

[1] Collell, Mossèn. Sagramental. 1888. In Vidal, Mei M. and Aisa, Ferran, Camins utòpics: Barcelona 1868-1888 (Barcelona: Edicions de 1984, 2004). 203. Translation mine: "Poble que mereix ser lliure, / si no l'hi donen, s'ho pren... / Catalans, ja ha arribat l'hora / de cridar agermanats: / via fora, via fora / per les pàtries llibertats."

[2] Solà, Joan. "Els Jocs Florals i el Congrés Pedagògic de 1888." www.bcn.es. Accessed 30 Oct 2011.

Week 6: Modern Life and Design

As the Barcelona fair of 1888 was primarily an industrial exposition, there was not much—apart from the various displays of regional products and goods—pertaining to the home or domestic life. That is not to say, however, that theExposició Universal had no impact in such spheres; in particular, the effects of the exposition can be seen in Barcelona's domestic architecture—that is to say, its apartment buildings—in the following years. This was accomplished not by design but rather by the fair's general, broad-reaching architectural impact.

As mentioned in my blog post on architecture at the fair, many buildings featured attempts at the creation of an indigenous Catalan architectural style for the modern era. The most successful, I argued, was the Arc de Triomf, which blended Roman form with neo-Mudéjar (a form of Moorish revival) decoration. One of the fair's most important buildings, still standing today, was Lluís Domènech i Montaner's Café-Restaurant, known today as the Castell dels Tres Dragons (Castle of the Three Dragons). This building, too, adopted the brickwork and ornament characteristic of the neo-Mudéjar style, but took a more medieval western European form—the castle—as its basis. A survey of the rest of the buildings reveals that the most common architectural themes are historicism and eclecticism, both tenets of the Modernist movement that rose to prominence in the exposition's wake.

Another structure at the 1888 fair that had a similar impact on Barcelona's Modernist apartment buildings was the Japanese Pavilion. The Japonisme craze had hit the major capitals of western Europe in the preceding decades, and to a lesser extent Barcelona, too. In 1881 the "Imperial Japanese Pavilion" was built on one of the expanding city's main new avenues to house a private collection of Japanese art. The 1888 exposition, however, represented Japan's first official introduction to Spain; Japan built a pavilion for the fair and a Japanese home. [1] Japanese exhibitors displayed art, furniture, and decorative arts, establishing trading contacts to prolong the cultural and artistic exchange between Japan and the homes of Barcelona. Though general European tastes at the time were certainly a factor, the exposition was a major motivation for the spread and promotion of Japonisme in Barcelona. [2]

Imperial Japanese Pavilion, 1881. From Bru i Turull, "Japanese Influence on Decorative Arts in Barcelona."

And indeed, Japan—and, by extension, other Orientalist and Orientalizing architectural styles—is fairly prominently included among the myriad periods, regions, and tastes represented in Barcelona's domestic buildings at the end of the nineteenth century and for decades to come.

Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Casa Rosa Alemany, Avinguda de la República Argentina, 6. 1931.

[1] Bru i Turull, Ricard. "Japanese Influence on Decorative Arts in Barcelona" in Design Discourse, vol. IV no. 1 (July 2008).

[2] Barlés Baguena, Elena, and Almazán Tomás, David. "The Far Eastern Art Collecting in Spain" in Artigrama, no. 18 (2003).

Week 5: Science

Though the chief foci of the Exposició Universal were the linked concepts of industrial advancement and local (and, to a lesser extent, national) identity, the field of science—hardly unrelated—was also included in a prominent role. This can be seen quite clearly in the space devoted to science on the final plan of the exposition. The Palau de Ciències (Palace of Science) was located at the fairgrounds end of the main entrance axis of the Saló de San Joan (at whose other end stood the Arc de Triomf). Though close to the main grounds, it sat on its axis opposite the Palau de les Belles Arts (Palace of Fine Arts) and next to the Palau de Justícia (Palace of Justice; Barcelona's courts) and the Palau d'Agricultura (Palace of Agricultural). The large Palau de Ciències had some eight massive halls, in addition to a sizeable auditorium, several smaller rooms, and a grand vestibule. The total area, according to the Official Catalogue of the Exposition, was 3,010 square meters, housing "chemical and pharmaceutical products," "pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic materials, etc.," materials related to "education and teaching," and other assorted "scientific apparatuses." Most of the displays were from Barcelona, but the rest were divided between the other Spanish provinces, Switzerland, and England. [1] As with much of the exposition, it seems the purpose of this particular exhibit was mainly the glorification of Barcelona and Catalonia.

Plans of Museu Martorell and Palau de Ciències. From Exposición Universal de Barcelona, 1888: Catálogo Oficial, especial de España.

The Palau de Ciències was not the only scientific exhibit at the 1888 exposition, though. According to the Official Catalogue, in the Museu Martorell, founded in 1882 in the Parc de la Ciutadella (used as the fairgrounds), "continue[d] on display the collections already there since its creation." [2] In 1878, Francesc Martorell i Peña donated to the city of Barcelona his collections pertaining to the natural sciences and archaeology, along with his library and research materials; inaugurated by Mayor Rius i Taulet in 1882, the Martorell Museum was Barcelona's first natural history museum, displaying zoological, geological, and botanical specimens. [3] Just as it was incorporated into the plan of the new Parc de la Ciutadella, so was the Martorell Museum incorporated into the plan of the Exposició Universal as one of the main structures; some objects (particularly geological ones) were added to the collection on the occasion of the exposition. [4]

Museu Martorell. From Exposició Universal 1888: Diari Oficial de l'Exposició, volume I, via Arxiu Municipal Contemporani de Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona.

[1] Exposición Universal de Barcelona, 1888: Catálogo Oficial, especial de España (Barcelona: Imprenta de los Sucesores de N. Ramírez y Ca., 1888). 7. Translation mine: "Los productos farmacéuticos ocupan una superficie de 151m2 horizontales, de los cuales 96m2 pertenecen á la provincia de Barcelona y el resto está distribuido entre catorce provincias de España, Inglaterra y Suiza. El material para la farmacia, medicina, ortopedia, etc., etc., ocupa 79m2 horizontales y 4m2 murales; de los primeros corresponden 67m á Barcelona y el resto dividido entre cuatro provincias de España y Suiza. Todo lo referente á educación y enseñanza ocupa una superficie horizontal de 203m2 y mural de 159m2; á Barcelona corresponden respectivamente 132m2 y 150m2; el resto está repartido entre diez provincias de España é Inglaterra. Los aparatos científicos ocupan una superficie horizontal de 45m2, de los cuales 16m pertenecen á Barcelona y el resto está repartido entre tres provincias de España, Inglaterra y Suiza."

[2] Ibid. 8. Translation mine: "En este edificio, continúan expuestas las colecciones ya existentes desde su creación . . ."

[3] Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. "Història." w3.bcn.es. Accessed 16 Oct 2011.

[4] Masriera, Alícia. "El Museu Martorell: 125 anys de Ciències Naturals (1878-2003)." w3.bcn.es. Accessed 16 Oct 2011.

Week 4: Technology

Technology was a key aspect of Barcelona's 1888 Exposició Universal. As mentioned in previous weeks' posts, one of the fair's main purposes was to prove to the rest of Europe Barcelona's industrial advancement and economic viability: this goal was manifested in the massive size and prominent position of the Gran Palau de la Indústria (Grand Palace of Industry), which showcased Spain's latest technological and industrial achievements. However, a broader-reaching and perhaps more powerful statement of the city's adaptation to and incorporation of technology is Barcelona's outfitting its major thoroughfares with streetlamps.

Barcelona, which had risen as an industrial center based on water and steam power, was just turning the corner into the electric age. As journalists Josep Maria Huertas Claveria and Jaume Fabre have described: "The houses were lit by lanterns and candles, cooking was done on coal ovens, and there was no other type of energy. Clothes had to be washed in public basins that worked well into the twentieth century." [1] This was exactly the image of a backward nation that Spain and Catalonia were trying to overturn. Thus, the advent of electric lighting on the streets of the old and new sections of Barcelona represented a true shift into modernity, and the 1888 Exposition was held to be the catalyst, if not the agent. Electricity in homes and true modernity for the entire city were soon to follow. [2]

In 1888, electric lighting was installed along Las Ramblas (a former stream and, functionally, open sewer running through the old city, which had been covered over earlier in the century and turned into a main road) and the Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes (a main avenue through the new part of the city, begun only a couple of decades earlier). This represented the modernization of the old center, and the realization of the utopic expansion zone of the city, still largely undeveloped. Both of these developments were important to show the rest of Europe, but also for the Catalan bourgeoisie, from whom Barcelona was finally becoming a city of which they could be proud.

[1] Huertas Claveria, Josep Maria and Fabre, Jaume. Quoted in "Fi de segle, principi de segle: L'Exposició de 1888" at www.bcn.es. Accessed 2 Oct 2011. http://www.bcn.es/publications/bcn_escultures/info/capitol1.html. Translation mine: "Les cases estaven il·luminades amb quinqués i espelmes, on es cuinava fent servir fogons de carbó i no es disposava de cap altre tipus d'energia. La roba s'havia de rentar als safareigs públics que van funcionar fins ben entrat el segle XX."

[2] "Fi de segle, principi de segle: L'Exposició de 1888" at www.bcn.es.

Week 3: Race and Ethnicity

While the main focus of the 1888 Exposició Universal was industry (particularly local industry), bolstered by arts, culture, and science, the European and American imperial worldview was hardly absent from the exposition. Not much attention was devoted to the contemporary imperial aspects of the Spanish state—perhaps because Spain's empire was in such marked decline compared to that of visiting nations, or because Catalonia's regional identity got in the way—but one exhibit stands out for overtly epitomizing nineteenth-century concepts of European racial dominance and ethnological hierarchy.

In the 1830s, the Verreaux brothers, two French taxidermists, exhumed the body of a young man in modern-day Botswana, stuffed and preserved the body, and displayed it in their shop in Paris along with various examples of African wildlife they had brought back as well. In the 1880s the body was purchased by Catalan veterinarian, taxidermist, and later first director of the Barcelona Zoo, Francesc Darder i Llimona. In 1888 this taxidermied body, posed holding a spear, was the centerpiece of Darder's own exhibition at the Exposició Universal.

Pages from a book published by Darder in 1888 to promote his exhibit. Source: University of Botswana History Department.

It appears this figure, nicknamed "el Negro" ("the Black"; "el Negre" in Catalan) at the Exposition, was not controversial in the least during the Exposició Universal, nor for the subsequent century. After Darder's death, el Negro, along with the rest of Darder's collection, was donated to a museum in the small town of Banyoles, not far from Barcelona. In the Museu Darder, el Negro was largely forgotten until the 1992 Olympic Games, when African nations threatened to boycott the Games on account of the display. [1] In 1997 the exhibit was taken down, and the body was returned to Botswana and interred in Harare in 2000. [2]

"El Negro" on display in the Museu Darder, Banyoles, Spain. Source: University of Botswana History Department.

[1] Cress, Doug. "Mummy in Museum Stirs Racial Dispute." The New York Times, 5 Feb 1992.

[2] University of Botswana History Department. "El Negro of Banyoles." 2003. . Accessed 25 Sep 2011.

Week 2: Economics

The Barcelona exposition of 1888 was planned and took place in the depths of an economic crisis that hit Europe at the start of the decade, precipitated by plummeting grain prices. Albert Carreras writes in "La coyuntura económica de 1888," reproduced in the Libro del centenario, published for the exposition's hundredth anniversary: "The crisis consisted of the arrival to European shores of massive and growing quantities of wheat at prices dropping lower and lower. Wheat—and other cereals, foodstuffs, and raw materials—came from overseas: America (North and South), Australia, India, and even Russia. The rapid reduction in transportation costs as a result of revolutionary improvements in maritime transport . . . and in ground transport . . . profoundly rearranged the global agricultural markets, especially in wheat." [1] This crisis had been predicted by a prescient few as early as 1876, and a poor harvest in 1879 further raised fears, but the crisis did not hit until 1882-3. Spain, a major exporter of grains and other agricultural products, was hit hard.

It was in this economic climate that in 1885, Enrique Serrano de Casanova, who had represented Spain in previous international expositions abroad, went to Barcelona's Ajuntament (City Hall) to request its support and collaboration in realizing a international exposition in Barcelona. [2] The purpose was to celebrate and showcase Barcelona's and Catalonia's industrial prowess and to elevate Barcelona to the level of international renown that such growth deserved. In Camins Utòpics, Mei Vidal and Ferran Aisa describe Barcelona's recent industrial explosion: "In Catalonia, in the final third of the nineteenth century, a process of modernization far superior to that of the rest of the Spanish state had been implemented. The strong differences ranged from the economic field to the social, the cultural, and the political. Catalonia's modernity signaled a step toward a society of full-on capitalist development, similar to that already in place in the majority of western European nations . . . The chief difference between the Catalan economy and that of the rest of the state was that during the second half of the nineteenth century, industry became the dominant engine of society, while the rest of Spain was essentially rural." [3] Alejandro Sánchez writes, "Between 1888 and 1929, Barcelona placed its bets on modernity, or (essentially the same thing) on full integration into advanced Europe. Barcelona had the conditions for achieving this and plenty of reasons to desire it. Insert into a country as economically lagging and as socially and politically backward as Spain the city's own role as an industrial metropolis and as capital of a developed region, with a distinct identity of its own, and the desire to open itself up to Europe and to project itself internationally becomes clear . . . The Universal Expositions, true showcases where Barcelona tried to show the world the material gains it had achieved, were the vehicle used to realize this." [4] Serrano believed Barcelona merited an opportunity to celebrate its industrial growth and show it off to the world, and he believed that the rapidly rising Catalan bourgeois industrial class would agree. Indeed, Sánchez continues, "The dream of the so-called 'good families' was to convert their city into a grand bourgeois metropolis, homologous to the European standard. Because of this, they pushed for the Universal Expositions." [5]

At first, the Ajuntament was fully behind Serrano and authorized a modest financial contribution to supplement the funds Serrano had promised to raise. [6] However, perhaps because of the economic crisis, Serrano was unable to raise the necessary capital for this essentially speculative venture, and it soon became clear that the exposition, already under construction, was heading toward ruin. According to Joan Busquets, "The passage of time demonstrated the inefficacy of Serrano's group, and one could see that the direction of the project, technical and economic, was wrong." [7] The essentially private enterprise of one man had put at risk the prestige of the city and the region.

In response, Barcelona's Mayor Francesc Rius i Taulet took action. He went to Madrid, where he appealed to the crown and the national government to provide financial assistance, as a disastrous world's fair in Barcelona would reflect poorly on the entire nation of Spain. With promises from the national government, Rius i Taulet returned to Barcelona and galvanized the new industrial bourgeois elite, raising the money to put together the exposition in a race against time. [8, 9] Against all predictions, the fair opened in the spring of 1888 with most of the buildings complete, and was hailed as a great success. "One year prior, nobody would have believed such a display was possible," Busquets writes. Barcelona had demonstrated to itself and to everyone else that it was the leading European capital its emerging classes desired." [10]

This was a truly impressive feat, as the economic crisis that had struck Europe and Spain along with it was at its worst point in 1887-1888. According to Carreras, those years saw the lowest national income since 1872. However, in the year after the fair, 1889, Spain enjoyed a 15% increase in national revenue. Carreras concludes, "Undoubtedly, the exit from the crisis years from 1883-1888 depended in large measure on the protectionist stance of the Spanish economy. However, the positive change of direction at this juncture came before the adoption of the principal protectionist measures. The creation of an atmosphere of optimism would have already favored business expectations. It was in this context that the euphoria of the Universal Exposition of Barcelona—more intense for the fact that many had predicted it to be a disaster—influenced the moment even more: it forged an atmosphere conducive to business enterprises, and it spread optimism and confidence." [11]

[1] Carreras, Albert. "La coyuntura económica de 1888." In Exposición Universal de Barcelona: Libro del centenario: 1888-1988 (Barcelona: Comisión Ciudadana para la conmemoración del Centenario de la Exposición Universal de Barcelona de Barcelona del año 1888, 1988). 414. Translation mine: "La crisis consistió en la llegada a las costas europeas de cantidades masivas y crecientes de trigo a precios cada vez más bajos. El trigo —y otros cereales, alimentos y materias primas— procedía de ultramar: América (del Norte y del Sur), Australia, la India e incluso Rusia. La rápida reducción del coste del transporte como consecuencia de las revolucionarieas mejoras introducidas en el tráfico marítimo…y en el tráfico terrestre…trastornó profundamente los mercados agrarios mundiales, especialmente los trigueros."

[2] Busquets, Joan. Barcelona: la construcción urbanística de una ciudad compacta (Barcelona: Ediciones del Serbal, 2004. 160-166.

[3] Vidal, Mei M. and Aisa, Ferran. Camins utòpics (Barcelona: Edicions de 1984, 2004). 193. Translation mine: “A Catalunya, en el darrer terç del segle XIX, s’havia experimentat un procés de modernització molt superior a la resta de l’Estat espanyol. Les fortes diferències anaven des del camp econòmic fins al social, el cultural, i el polític. La modernitat de Catalunya significava el pas cap a una societat de ple desenvolupament capitalista, semblant a la que ja s’havia implantat en la majoria de països de l’Europa occidental…La principal diferència entre l’economia catalana i la resta de l’Estat era que durant la segona meitat del segle XIX aquí la indústria va esdevenir el motor dominant de la societat, mentre que Espanya era essencialment rural.”

[4] Sánchez, Alejandro. "Manchester español, Rosa de Fuego, París del sur . . ." in Barcelona 1888-1929: Modernidad, ambición y conflictos de una ciudad soñada (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1994). 15-16. Translation mine: "Entre 1888 y 1929 Barcelona apostó de forma decidida por la modernidad, o lo que era lo mismo, por la integración plena en la Europa avanzada del momento. Condiciones para conseguirlo las tenía y razones para desearlo le sobraban. Inserta en un país económicamente atrasado y social y políticamente retardatario como era España, su propia supervivencia como metrópoli industrial y como capital de una región desarrollada, con identidad propia y diferenciada, pasaba por su capacidad para abrirse a Europa y proyectarse internacionalmente . . . Las Exposiciones Universales, verdaderos escaparates donde se intentaba mostrar al mundo los logros materiales alcanzados, fueron el vehículo utilizado para conseguirlo."

[5] Ibid. Translation mine: "El sueño de las llamadas «buenas familias» era convertir la ciudad en una gran metrópoli burguesa, homologable a nivel europeo. Para ello impulsaron las Exposiciones Universales."

[6] Busquets, 161.

[7] Ibid. Translation mine: ". . . el paso del tiempo demostró la ineficacia del grupo Serrano y se pudo comprobar que la orientación de este proyecto, tanto técnica como económica, era incorrecta."

[8] Grau, Ramon and López, Marina. "La Exposición Universal de 1888 en la historia de Barcelona." In Exposición Universal de Barcelona: Libro del centenario: 1888-1988 (Barcelona: Comisión Ciudadana para la conmemoración del Centenario de la Exposición Universal de Barcelona de Barcelona del año 1888, 1988). 319-320.

[9] McDonogh, Gary W. "Barcelona 1888." In Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions, 1851-1988. Ed. John E. Findling and Kimberly D. Pelle (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990). 100.

[10] Busquets, 164. Translation mine: "Un año antes nadie podía imaginar que tal alarde fuera posible. Barcelona se había demostrado a sí misma y a los demás que era esa capital líder en Europa que las clases emergentes deseaban."

[11] Carreras, 419. Translation mine: "Indudablemente, la salida de los años de crisis que se extienden de 1883 a 1888 dependió, en buena medida, del cariz proteccionista de la economia española. Pero el cambio de orientación de la coyuntura se anticipó a la adopción de las principales medidas de este cariz. La constatación de un estado de opinión favorable ya debía favorecer las espectativas empresariales. Es en este contexto que la euforia de la Exposición Universal de Barcelona —más intensa por el hecho de lo mucho que se había pronosticado su fracaso— más debió influir en su momento: forjó un ambiente favorable a las iniciativas empresariales, difundió el optimismo y la confianza."

Week 1: Architecture

Barcelona’s Universal Exposition of 1888 did not feature a unified architectural scheme, as the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago would five years later. As The New York Times noted of the 1888 Barcelona fair shortly before its opening, “the Moorish style…with the Neo-Greek style, predominates in all the buildings.” [1] One would be hard-pressed to find a unified architectural scheme that involves both Moorish and Neo-Greek styles; Barcelona was not an exception.

Indeed, many of the structures were built in the Neoclassical style so ubiquitous in western Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, while other prominent architects chose to build in the “Moorish” — or, more accurately, Mudéjar — style. The former adhered to the European architectural zeitgeist; the latter were in search of a new regional Catalan and national Spanish architectural style. However, the Arc de Triomf (Triumphal Arch), which was the primary entrance to the fairground, serves as a perfect example for architectural study of the exposition because it manages to stand with a foot in each architectural tradition, uniting Spain’s heterogeneous architectonic past in one structure: as the City of Barcelona’s website describes, it is a “triumphal arch built according to Classical proportions but with some materials and some ornamental elements that allow it to be called Neo-Mudéjar.” [2]

Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, Arc de Triomf, 1888. Photograph by author.

The arch, designed by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas and built in 1888 for the fair, has clear roots in Classical antiquity and the subsequent architectural tradition. Obvious examples of precedents include the Arches of Titus and Constantine in Rome, and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, completed some fifty years earlier. In her catalogue raisonné of Vilaseca, Rosemarie Bletter points to a more local example, the Arc de Berà near Tarragona: “The proportions come closer to those of the Roman arch of Berà, Tarragona. The placement of the shafts and the extension in turret-like forms are quite reminiscent of the pilasters of the Arc de Berà.” [3]

Arc de Berà, Tarragona. Source.

The form of Vilaseca’s Arc de Triomf and its purpose as a grand entrance and monument are unquestionably Classical in nature; that, however, is the extent of Classical influence in the structure. The materials and ornamentation are not reminiscent of Greece, Rome, or Beaux-Arts Paris, but rather of the architecture of Iberia in centuries past. In Classical architecture, it would have been proper to cover the brick of the structure with plaster or stucco; the decision to keep the brick exposed and visible is a direct reaction to this. [4]

Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, Arc de Triomf, 1888. Source: Exposició Universal 1888: Diari Oficial de l'Exposició, volume I, via Arxiu Municipal Contemporani de Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona.

According to Bletter, the Arc de Triomf is the first time Vilaseca used visible brick in his architecture; he would only once again, in a much less prominent capacity. For the architects who chose to build in brick for the 1888 exposition, this was undoubtedly a bold move. Brick was placed on a low rung in the hierarchy of architectural materials and construction in nineteenth-century Europe, and due to its cheapness relative to stone, it was most often employed in the construction of factories and other utilitarian buildings — almost never for important public buildings. These architects did not choose to work in brick out of economic consideration: the purpose of the fair was to showcase the region’s and the city’s prosperity to the world, and the expense of stone over brick would almost certainly have been allowed, with Barcelona’s and Spain’s prestige and international standing on the line. [5]

Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, Arc de Triomf, 1888. Detail. Photograph by author.

Vilaseca’s risk paid off, however. His Neo-Mudéjar/Neoclassical arch was featured on the cover of the April 30, 1888 cover of the magazine La Ilustración Artística, and described quite favorably: “The impression of the Triumphal Arch of Mr. Vilaseca is pleasant and reveals that the author has attempted—not without success—to harmonize the great examples of Classical antiquity with certain of his own ideas of Spanish art.” [6] Vilaseca’s arch and the works of his colleagues, particularly Lluís Domènech i Montaner, fueled a surge in Neo-Mudéjar and polychrome architecture which would eventually become a celebrated hallmark of the city of Barcelona. Bletter notes, “The International Exposition [sic], with its many mudéjar buildings, especially those that, like Vilaseca’s Entrance Arch [sic], were constructed in richly structured, visible brick, combined with glazed tile work, greatly facilitated the acceptance of polychrome and ornamental architecture.” [7] As Catalan architect Joan Busquets has written, “Among the permanent buildings [of the Exposition] Josep Vilaseca’s Triumphal Arch stands out, without a doubt, signaling the entrance from the new city; a masterly work in the use of masses of brick…[In 1888] architecture, like other arts, participates in the general illusion of change in Catalan society, and in this case expresses itself by recovering images from the past, from the Arab or Oriental world, from the Gothic or from vernacular architecture, which, along with new construction techniques, will give rise to an image of modernity and of the cosmopolitan society that industrialized Catalonia wants.” [8]

View of Universal Exposition with Arc de Triomf in background. In center of background is Lluís Domènech i Montaner's restaurant building, also of brick. Source: Exposició Universal 1888: Diari Oficial de l'Exposició, volume I, via Arxiu Municipal Contemporani de Barcelona, Ajuntament de Barcelona.

[1] “Barcelona’s Big Fair.” The New York Times. 14 Jan 1888.

[2] “Arc de Triomf.” Ajuntament de Barcelona. w10.bcn.es. Accessed 15 Sep 2011. Translation mine: “Arc triomfal segons les proporcions clàssiques però amb alguns materials i alguns elements ornamentals que permeten parlar de neomudèjar.”

[3] Bletter, Rosemarie. El arquitecto Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas: sus obras y dibujos. Trans. Justo G. Beramendi (Barcelona: Editorial La Gaya Ciencia, 1977). 55. Translation mine: “Las proporciones se acercan más a las del arco romano de Bará, Tarragona. El emplazamiento de los fustes y su prolongación en formas tipo torreta recuerdan mucho las pilastras del Arco de Bará.”

[4] Vidal, Mei M. and Aisa, Ferran. Camins utòpics (Barcelona: Edicions de 1984, 2004). 198. “L’Arc de Triomf, que era l’accés principal a l’Exposició, va ser construït per l’arquitecte Josep Vilaseca, que va utilizar formes mudèjars amb maó vist, com a reacció contraria al sistema clàssic de recobrir l’obra amb estucs.”

[5] Bletter, 25-26. “El arco…es de ladrillo visto, de disposición compacta, y con azulejos polícromos que dan una nota de color al conjunto. Es la primera vez que Vilaseca emplea ladrillo visto; no lo volvería a hacer, con la excepción de la Casa Enrique Batlló, donde emplearía ladrillos dispuestos en entrepaños lisos de una forma mucho menos estructurada. En el siglo XIX el ladrillo había descendido, por lo general, en la jerarquía de los materiales de construcción. Era más barato que la piedra y normalmente se utilizaba en fábricas y edificios igualmente utilitarios por razones económicas, pero casi nunca en estructuras públicas de cierta importancia. Por esto es doblemente curioso encontrar otros muchos edificios de ladrillo en la Exposición Universal, como el Pabellón Agrícola de Pedro Falqués, el Pabellón de Instalaciones Navales de Cayetano Buhigas, el «Umbráculo» de Joseph Fontseré, el Pabellón de Sevilla de José Corteza y el Restaurante de la Exposición, de Domènech. La cuestión económica no pudo ser un factor importante a la hora de decidir los materiales a emplear en esta importante exhibición internacional en la que estaba en juego el prestigio de Cataluña.”

[6] “Arco de Triunfo.” La Ilustración Artística, vol. VII, no. 331 (30 Apr 1888). Translation mine: “A pesar de lo cual, la impresión del Arco de Triunfo del Sr. Vilaseca es agradable y revela que el autor ha pretendido, no sin éxito, armonizar los grandes ejemplos de la antigüedad clásica, con ciertas ideas propias del arte español.” Quoted in Bletter, 25-26.

[7] Bletter, 25-26. Translation mine: “La Exposición Internacional, con sus numerosos edificios mudéjares, especialmente aquellos que, como el Arco de Entrada de Vilaseca, estaban construidos en ladrillo visto ricamente estructurado, en combinación con obra de azulejo, facilitó mucho la aceptación de la arquitectura polícroma y detallista…”

[8] Busquets, Joan. Barcelona: la construcción urbanística de una ciudad compacta (Barcelona: Ediciones del Serbal, 2004). 162-6. Translations mine: “Entre los edificios permanentes destaca sin duda el Arco de Triunfo de Josep Vilaseca, señalando la entrada desde la nueva ciudad; una obra magistral en el uso de las masas de ladrillo.” “La arquitectura como otras artes participa de la ilusión general de cambio de la sociedad catalana y en este caso se expresa con la recuperación de imágenes del pasado, del mundo árabe u oriental, del gótico o de la arquitectura popular, que van a dar, junto con las nuevas técnicas de construcción, una imagen de modernidad y de sociedad cosmopolita que la nueva Cataluña industrializada desea…”