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.