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1st out of 13 books
—
4 voters
Barcelona
Barcelona is Robert Hughes's monumentally informed and irresistibly opinionated guide to the most un-Spanish city in Spain. Hughes scrolls through Barcelona's often violent history; tells the stories of its kings, poets, magnates, and revolutionaries; and ushers readers through municipal landmarks that range from Antoni Gaudi's sublimely surreal cathedral to a postmodern r...more
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
March 9th 1993
by Vintage
(first published February 18th 1992)
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I have to confess to a gruding respect for Hughes, for his learnedness, his cantankerousness, and his sensitivity to the complexity of aesthetic environments. This is an extremely good outsider's story of Barcelona - a haunting, complex, contradictory city with its history of radical politics (potent anachist and communist histories here), its deepseated reactionary cultural nationalist (there was little 'progressive' about Gaudi), its distinctive architecture, its vibrant districts, and its unc...more
Robert Hughes is a cantacertous art critic who has produced some fine
retrospectives on American and Modern Art. He describes himself primarily a writer who writes about art, which will make sense
after reading Barcelona. This is wonderful combination economic/cultural history of a place that is its own nation. Respectful
but not reverential Hughes examines the economic success of Catalonia and the cultural supportors it spawned. Another important factor for
defining the Catalonia identity is that i...more
retrospectives on American and Modern Art. He describes himself primarily a writer who writes about art, which will make sense
after reading Barcelona. This is wonderful combination economic/cultural history of a place that is its own nation. Respectful
but not reverential Hughes examines the economic success of Catalonia and the cultural supportors it spawned. Another important factor for
defining the Catalonia identity is that i...more
My father is from Barcelona, and most of the family still lives there. I've been multiple times and find the city both utterly absorbing due to its architecture, food, fashion, nightlife, futbol as well as utterly frustrating due to its peoples obsession with the Catalan language and snob-ness because they are from Barca.
This book goes all the way in explaining where the Catalan nationalist sentiment comes from - From it's affinity to republican movements in Northern Europe rather than catholic...more
This book goes all the way in explaining where the Catalan nationalist sentiment comes from - From it's affinity to republican movements in Northern Europe rather than catholic...more
Hughes is a great writer and insightful critic who has penned the ultimate biography of a city that harks back to Roman times and has been completely reinvented itself since the death of Franco, who attempted to crush Catalan culture, language and soul.
That said, his subject is little parochial unless you:
1) Plan to visit Barcelona or know the city well
2) Are a fan of art and architecture criticism
In addition to those two subjects, Hughes' survey is exhaustive, covering literature, agriculture,...more
That said, his subject is little parochial unless you:
1) Plan to visit Barcelona or know the city well
2) Are a fan of art and architecture criticism
In addition to those two subjects, Hughes' survey is exhaustive, covering literature, agriculture,...more
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Interesting history of Barcelona from Roman times up til just before the 1992 Olympics. The most interesting parts of the book are the end where he talks about the Barcelona Art Nouveau and Guadi and the milieu from which they emerged. (Basically there was both a left- and right-wing modernism allied with socialism/anarchism and Catalan nationalism/Catholicsm, respectively, with Gaudi coming from an ultraconservative Catholicism.) I wish it had more illustrations. There were many intriguing work...more
I've read this in preparation for my trip to Barcelona. It is a history of that city and region (Catalonia) as seen by Robert Hughes. While he's done his research, it's clear it's history through his eyes and mind and he is highly opinionated. It is part of the fun. When it comes to descriptions of architecture and art, he is even more opinionated. But I feel I have a good idea of what the people might be like--although I might have to channel Robert Hughes to really know.
Robert Hughes is an overwhelming historical name-dropper. His strategy is to drop as many names as possible: figures of actual import, as well as their friends, their parents, their grandparents, their children, their kings, their mayors, their contemporaries and associates, their patrons and benefactors, their detractors, and their priests. The framework within which he attempts to weave this extensive cast of characters into coherency is loose: Barcelona. Still, a good read.
I just wanted to know a bit more about this city -- and well, now I do. The book reminded me three important things:
1) How much I learned from reading The Fatal Shore before I came to Australia,
2) Why Australians hate their own Robert Hughes (you are too grand and confident a thinker for this flat island, Mate! )
3) This level of information is the difference between a pop song on an ipod and a symphony orchestra
1) How much I learned from reading The Fatal Shore before I came to Australia,
2) Why Australians hate their own Robert Hughes (you are too grand and confident a thinker for this flat island, Mate! )
3) This level of information is the difference between a pop song on an ipod and a symphony orchestra
fantastic bio of a thrilling city. Hughes is a sympathetic, knowledgeable, fun, and good writer and at almost 600 pages you get enough, i do believe. Author Hughes wrote a re-worked version of this in 2004 for a series called "national geographic directions" which is much more manageable for the armchair historian/art/architecture eggheads at 170 pages.
Look, this book is outrageously good. I picked it up in Barcelona for local color and it was just so interesting that I kept reading state-side. Unfortunate that he ends on Gaudi, as I thought that was not his strongest note, but I understand the need to organize it that way. I would love to see this updated after the Olympics and the formation of the EU.
If you are travelling to Barcelona and are a reader -- this is the one. Start before you leave.
If you are travelling to Barcelona and are a reader -- this is the one. Start before you leave.
I bought this after seeing the Woody Allen film Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona. Robert Hughes' writing is always clear, crisp and personal; this book is no exception. It may be a little dense for an overview of the city, but it's a great basis for understanding the historic underpinnings of Catalunya.
I give this one a 5 because I love the subject of this book. However, be ready to be bombarded with more architectural detail that the average layperson can handle in one sitting. I read this book before, during, and after my visit to this city and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Barcelona is one of the most beautiful and liveliest cities I've visited. This book focuses on the city's architectural and artistic history, which, unfortunately for me, I didn't find particularly interesting.
Lectura obligada para todo el que vaya de viaje a Barcelona. Un excelente compendio de la historia, arquitectura y cultura de la ciudad, descrito con humor, por un confeso enamorado de la ciudad
I read this to prepare for our trip to Barcelona. It helped so much to know the history of the city before going. The book is heavy on details and a bit of a slow read but very good.
A whale of a book, but a very satisfying companion to Catalonian history in general and Barcelona’s story in particular with exquisite chapters on Modernism and Gaudi. Highly recommended if you have a need to be informed. One has to start early, though. I was only halfway through (541 pages in my edition) when I visited Barcelona, and I wish I had read it in its entirety before I got there. I wouldn’t have missed a couple of more obscure modernista places then, and I would have known more about,...more
Barcelona is Robert Hughes's monumentally informed and irresistibly opinionated guide to the most un-Spanish city in Spain. Hughes scrolls through Barcelona's often violent history; tells the stories of its kings, poets, magnates, and revolutionaries; and ushers readers through municipal landmarks that range from Antoni Gaudi's sublimely surreal cathedral to a postmodern restaurant with a glass-walled urinal. The result is a work filled with the attributes of Barcelona itself: proportion, humor,...more
Tedious to read but worth a try if you are traveling to Barcelona and want to have a sense of the history of this beautiful city.
Ah, Spain. Or in this case Catalonia. Good old Robert Hughes. We should all read this book and then buy our airline tickets.
Jun 07, 2012
Sydney
added it
A big book full of lots of interesting tidbits. Counting the days until I can see the city for myself!
Probably my favorite book on the history of art and architecture in Catalonia.
Thank you to Troy for recommending this terrific introduction to the history and culture of Barcelona! see http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
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The Great Robert Hughes - read him and weep that you're not him.
Very interesting if you're interested in the history of Barcelona
Great book about the history and art of the city
Great companion to a trip to the city. Very "chatty" style that make book seem like talking with a very knowledgeable person in a bar.
Robert Hughes an aulstrlian art critic, historian, is fascinated by Barcelona--its history, art, arcitecture, culture. Spain is the least united country I can think of. Despite centuries of efforts to consolidate and centralize, Catolonia is so not Spain.
Our impressions of Barcelona are forever tainted by that night in the old city, walking with Alice and Brenna, a thief sneaks up and rips Brenna's purse from her and disappears into the labyrinth of the dark twisting streets.
Our impressions of Barcelona are forever tainted by that night in the old city, walking with Alice and Brenna, a thief sneaks up and rips Brenna's purse from her and disappears into the labyrinth of the dark twisting streets.
Es excepcional, la visión deL arte y la cultura catalanas no sólo son sensibles y enciclopedicas, sino necesarias para entender la relación entre los sucesos actuales y la historia de Barcelona, Cataluña y España.
An astonishing account about a city full of complexities and paradoxes that add to its intriguing beauty. Didn't know about Hughes until I saw a documentary he made about Gaudí and he impressed me a lot. So seeing that he was so enchanted by Barcelona as to write such a thorough book about it was a double pleasure. I really enjoyed this reading, both in style and information.
Despite his admission that this is a "non-scholarly" reading of the city's history, I found it to be exhaustively researched and very comprehensive. This is a terrific starting point for those interested in how Barcelona has evolved into the mysterious and layered city that it is today...or at least in 2000, the last time I was there...
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Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Riverview before going on to study arts and then architecture at the University of Sydney. At university, Hughes associated with the Sydney "Push" – a group of artists, writers, intellectuals and drinkers. Among the...more
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Dec 21, 2007 11:43am