Spanish architecture reflects the influence of past eras. From the early Roman ruins, the ornate Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada with its lace-like stone carvings to the Gothic castles and monasteries, and the fantastic modernist sculptures and monuments of Gaudí, Spain has been a melting pot, absorbing characteristics from each successive wave of settlers.

Spain also offers a wide variety of domestic arts and crafts which respect age-old traditions as well as modern decorative styles. Catalonian textiles and hand-woven rugs are world-famous; leather goods have a similar high profile and are extremely popular amongst the tourists. The spread of tourism has seen huge growth in local craft traditions. Valencia is home to an international furniture fair and offers a fine range of hand crafted wooden products, while the Balearic Islands are celebrated for their colourful painted ceramics.

Madrid is home to one of the world’s most famous art galleries, the Museo del Prado. This elaborate neo-Classical building holds a fascinating collection of Spanish, Italian, and Flamenco art dating back to the fifteenth century. The Guggenheim museum of modern art in Bilbao also attracts visitors from all over the world.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

Picasso, who had a profound influence on artistic development in Spain, is considered to be one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century. Born in Malaga in southern Spain, Picasso entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona when he was just 14 years old.

His early work was influenced by post-impressionist and symbolist painters like Gauguin and Braque. His painted landscapes in tiny squares or cubes developed into Cubism. During the First World War, Picasso settled in Paris, where he married the Russian dancer, Olga Koklova. Picasso’s marriage was turbulent, and many of his paintings of this period show violent, disturbing images of women. Three Women at the Spring (1921) is one example.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) the world was shocked by the bombing of the civilian town of Guernica by Nazi planes acting under General Franco’s orders. This inspired Picasso’s famous anti-war painting entitled Guernica. Death became a favourite topic in his works after that. He met the French painter, Francoise Gilot in this period, with whom he had two children.

In the 1960s Picasso produced an amazing 50 foot-tall sculpture for the Chicago Civic Centre. He also donated more than 800 exhibits to the Museum in Barcelona and was the first living artist to exhibit at The Louvre, with a special show arranged to honour his 90th birthday.

García Lorca is Spain’s most revered poet. He was murdered by the Nationalists at the start of the Spanish Civil War, and his sudden death brought him new fame. His surrealist poems carry the rhythm of flamenco and the cultural influence of his native Andalucia. They are dark explorative poems, rich in imagery. He also wrote plays: Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba are among his most famous.

The Gypsy and the Wind

Playing her parchment moon
Precosia comes
along a watery path of laurels and crystal lights.

The starless silence, fleeing
from her rhythmic tambourine,
falls where the sea whips and sings,
his night filled with silvery swarms.

High atop the mountain peaks
the sentinels are weeping;
they guard the tall white towers
of the English consulate.

And gypsies of the water
for their pleasure erect
little castles of conch shells
and arbors of greening pine.