Fundació Joan Miró

Josep Lluís Sert, who spent the years of the Franco dictatorship as dean of the School of Design at Harvard University, designed one of the greatest museum buildings in the world on his return. Approachable, light and airy, these white walls and arches house a collection of more than 225 paintings, 150 sculptures and all of Miró's graphic work, plus some 5,000 drawings. The building was constructed specifically to house Miró's work and creates a true fusion of art and architecture.

The permanent collection, highlighting Miró's trademark use of primary colours and simplified organic forms symbolising stars, the moon, birds and women, occupies the second half of the space. On the way to the sculpture gallery is Alexander Calder's rebuilt Mercury Fountain, originally seen at the Spanish Republic's Pavilion at the 1937 Paris Fair. In other works, Miró is shown as a cubist ('Street in Pedralbes', 1917), naive ('Portrait of a Young Girl', 1919) and surrealist ('Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement', 1935). In the upper galleries, large, black-outlined paintings from Miró's final period precede a room of works with political themes.

The foundation also houses the Joaquim Gomis Archive, which is a collection of 70,000 photos and documents. Gomis is recognised as one of the first Catalan photographers with a modern approach. There are also two to three temporary exhibitions on at all times. These exhibitions are announced and previewed on the Foundation's website.