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Palau de Maricel

The entrance hall

The Maricel Palace foyer.

The Maricel Palace foyer.

The first room we find before entering the Golden Hall is known as the avantsala and serves as the reception area for visitors. It exhibits a collection of very interesting enamel pieces. In fact, what we seeing are reproductions that the Board of Museums of Barcelona commissioned for their Artistic Reproductions Museum. In the 19th century, as a result of the Artistic Industries Exhibitions, great interest was aroused in the sumptuous arts or arts of the object. Across Europe reproduction museums were created to bring masterpieces of the past to the public.

In June 1936, the Board decided to bring the porcelain, ceramics, enamel and glass collections to the Palau Maricel (today at the Maricel de Mar) to be exhibited there.

Some of the works are signed by some of the greatest artists of the time, such as Théophile Soyer (Paris and Geneva) with Afrodita amb amorets (Aphrodite with cupids) and Ernest Blancher. Not all of them are copies, since we also find some originals made on the basis of works from other artistic disciplines, such as the portraits by Rafael. Other pieces of especial interest are the small Viennese chests with drawers that date back to the 19th century. Prominent among the enamel pieces are the neo-renaissance ones apparently by Pierre Gobert, although this assignation has yet to be confirmed.

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