Barcelona: Museu Frederic Marès

Around the corner from the Barcelona Cathedral is the Museu Frederic Marès.

Marès was a sculptor … quoted as having said that he makes sculptures to buy sculptures. He is known as the “… most distinguished Catalan collector of the 20th century.” In addition to donating to the museum a small number of his own sculptures, which we found in what was once the library-study of the old Royal Palace of the Counts of Barcelona, he turned over his collections to the city in 1946.

On the top two floors, where we started our visit, are displays that are part of the “Collector’s Cabinet.” There are tens of thousand of pieces in the Cabinet … making up a series of collections that “document past lifestyles and customs, mainly from the 19th century.”

Such variety of items left us in wonder … toys, wrought iron works, weapons, photographs, timepieces, ceramics and glassware, and more. The women’s hall had everything from hundreds of fans to purses to gloves to bouquet-holders that women carried in their hands. The collection of pipes in the Smoker’s Hall were like miniature sculptures in meerschaum.

The remaining floors exhibit a collection of sculptures … mostly religious in nature … from ancient times to the 19th century.

Perhaps the most amazing part of our visit to the museum was the fact that there were very few people sharing the experience with us. Talk about being off the beaten path … in the heart of Barcelona.Read more