The National Museum of Catalan Art is housed in the National Palace built for the 1888 World Exhibition. It presents art from Catalonia from medieval times to the present day. Has one of the best collections of Romanesque wall painting in the world.
The seat of the Museum is a monumental building erected from scratch, without foundations for the exhibition. He was to be quickly demolished. However, it turned out to be great as exhibition space. From the beginning of the 20th century, it presents art collections from Catalonia.
The most valuable part of the collection is a collection of paintings transferred from the Pyrenean churches in the Pyrenees, unique in the world. Individual museum rooms have been made more like church interiors, and the paintings have been arranged in accordance with their real layout. Romanesque columns with carved capitals and Gothic sculptures also come from the Middle Ages. The following centuries are mainly represented by painting. There are works of such masters as El Greco or Velasquez. Nevertheless, contemporary art collections are valuable, where you can see the works of Salvator Dali, Antonio Gaudi or Pablo Picasso.
