This exhibition reflects the extraordinary creativity of Catalan Modernism, also known as Modernisme, a diverse and complex movement that developed in Catalonia between the 1880s and the end of the first decade of the 20th century, appearing not only in the visual arts (architecture, painting, sculpture, decorative arts), but also in other areas of Catalan culture, including literature, music and theatre. Modernisme emerged as an expression of the desire to bring art and culture into line with a new social reality, to create a style of its own and to provide an equivalent to a cultural trend that was taking root in different places around Europe under different names, and always in connection with the concepts of modernity. Hence the name. This exhibition displays the wide scope of this movement and the complexity of the art produced during this period, where there was no single aesthetic form of expression, but rather diverse and contradictory coexisting styles. The artists featured in this exhibition include Ramon Casas, Alexandre de Riquer, Joaquim Mir, Pau Gargallo, Josep Llimona, Gabriel Homar and Antoni Gaudí, among others.

Painting, sculpture, furniture… every facet of art powerfully expresses the quest for beauty of this movement, Modernisme, which came to characterise an entire era.