There are a fair few posts with the 'Barcelona' tag on this blog now, most with links and suggestions for reading. But a straight reading list on the city and its art might also be useful, so here it is - limited to English language publications, not counting guidebooks etc. which can be bought on site, and aimed at those whose interest is principally in art history.
Robert Hughes, Barcelona. A mighty tome which covers the city's history from its origins to the late nineteenth century. There's a huge amount of interest here. The early chapters might have been pruned a bit - lengthy quotations from Spanish Latin poets seems a little indulgent - but Hughes writes brilliantly about Romanesque and Gothic art. The later chapters, on the nineteenth century and Gaudí, are the sharpest.
Colm Toíbin, Homage to Barcelona. Picks up after Hughes leaves off, concentrating on the twentieth century and drawing on the author's experiences of living there. By no means just about art - there are great passages on food and out-of-town clubs under Franco - but there is a good deal on the visuals of the city too. Some lovely writing on Miró here. Toíbin is a distinguished critic and novelist, and the book is a masterclass in observational writing.
Bahamón and Losantos, Barcelona: Historical Atlas of Architecture. Beautifully produced book, which takes us through the history of the city, pointing out many buildings along the way, from the Roman walls to 2006. Sections on the different districts of BCN take us well beyond the usual tourist routes.
Manuel Gausa and others, BCN: Barcelona, a Guide to its Modern Architecture. Handbook to architecture between 1860 and 2002, with key facts on a huge number of buildings. These last two books show there is a lot more to Barcelona's architecture than Gaudí!
Marilyn McCully, ed., Homage to Barcelona: The City and its Art, 1888-1936. Exhibition catalogue for a Hayward Gallery exhibition of 1985. Covers the period where the city saw most expansion and development, and probably the richest profusion of artistic movements. Digestible chapters on many topics, well illustrated. Out of print, but well worth tracking down.
William H Robinson and Jordi Falg, Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudí, Picasso, Miró, Dalí. Another exhibition catalogue, big and beautiful, covering the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Online
Most of these links are given elsewhere in the blog, but I repeat them here for convenience.
The Culturcat site has detailed accounts of the major periods and movements in art in Catalonia.
Barcelona One and Only is an entry-level pdf guide to the main works in the city.
Routes of Gothic covers civil and ecclesiastical buildings in the Gothic style across Barcelona.
Modernism in Barcelona - another pdf guide, this time to the Modernist works of Gaudí and his contemporaries.
David Mackay, Modern Architecture in Barcelona (1854-1939). Monograph which goes well beyond the usual guidebook level.
See the Art Public link on the sidebar opposite for an invaluable source of information on public monuments.
