Museu Europeu d'Art Modern (MEAM)

Opened in June 2011, this museum run by the Academy of Barcelona occupies the 18th-century Palau Gomis, built by a wealthy merchant and later used as the headquarters of the Napoleon's general in Barcelona.

Given a Modernista facelift in the early 1900s, it has since been beautifully restored (the ceilings in the main drawing room are 33ft high) to house the Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes, with changing exhibits of works by (mainly) Catalan and Spanish painters and sculptors from the late 19th-century to the present, including a large collection of Art Deco figurines.

In an age when mainstream art is sodden with irony and tedium, these merry reactionaries provide a real alternative. The paintings range from pure portraiture to Hyperrealism and fantasy. Perhaps inevitably, there's a dose of kitsch thrown in, but on the whole only the most anal of postmodernist critics would complain.

Practical Info

C/ Barra de Ferro 5

Hours Tues—Sun 11am—7pm

Adm €13, €10 students and pensioners; free under age 10. The Palau Gomis also hosts Friday jazz, swing or blues concerts starting at 6pm; €17 include admission to the museum. Tickets in advance available on the website.

metro Jaume I

www.meam.es

@MuseuMEAM

Facebook

Video

+34 93 319 56 93