Ceilings: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

MNAC Ceilings, #23, Barcelona, 2021

Welcome to MNAC!

This huge edification on the side of Montjuic, above Plaça d’Espanya, was built for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition and now houses the National Art Museum of Catalunya. So, despite what many a tourist might think, it is not a particularly old building by European standards.

There are permanent exhibitions as well as always-rotating temporary exhibits. See the MNAC website for the latest news, hours, prices, etc. Check the “magic fountain” schedule and maybe even enjoy that relaxing show in the evening, after your museum visit.

Generally, photography is permitted in the MNAC… but, there may be certain exhibits where it is not. Inquire within and leave the tripod at home.

Although there is plenty of interesting art to see, on this day, I chose to let my hairy eyeball wander constantly up the heavy neo-classical columns to the heights of the ornate, colorful, spectacular, monstrous even(?), religious, and sometimes faintly fascist(?), ceilings.

So, what camera did you use?

The tool was nothing special: the iPhone X. So, these photographs will probably look OK online, but there is no real possibility to make large prints from them–unless you can assure a viewing distance measured in city blocks.

But, my phone is what I had with me… and, as has oft been said:

“The best camera in the world is the one you have with you.” —Chase Jarvis, I believe

The Images…

Let’s start at the entrance lobby. Take a load off, set your fanny horizontal on one of those soft sofas, and look up:

MNAC Ceilings, #1, Barcelona, 2021

MNAC Ceilings, #3, Barcelona, 2021

Here, if you observe closely, you can find some odd, almost abstract, angles and patterns:

MNAC Ceilings, #33, Barcelona, 2021

Moving into the the heart of MNAC, here are some pictures from the huge, airy and open, Great Hall, or Oval Room, a venue suitable for events involving up to some 2,000 humans beans:

MNAC Ceilings, #6, Barcelona, 2021

MNAC Ceilings, #9, Barcelona, 2021

MNAC Ceilings, #11, Barcelona, 2021

MNAC Ceilings, #16, Barcelona, 2021

This first picture of the enormous organ is not exactly “looking up”, but I just had to include a complete photo of this spectacular instrument. It was installed in 1929, enlarged in 1955, but apparently is currently out of commission and awaiting funds for restoration. I’d love to hear this beast in action, blasting out Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor!