Museu Fundación Juan March

This 17th-century mansion makes a good introduction to Spanish contemporary art. On permanent display are some 70 pieces held by the Fundación Juan March. Together they constitute a veritable who’s who of mostly 20th-century artists, including Picasso, Miró, Juan Gris (of cubism fame), Dalí and the sculptor Julio González.

After starting with the big names, the collection moves through various movements in Spanish art, such as that inspired in Barcelona by the Dau al Set review (1948–53) and led by Antoni Tàpies. Meanwhile, in Valencia, Eusebi Sempere and Andreu Alfaro were leading the way down abstract paths. Sempere’s Las Cuatro Estaciones (1980) reflects the four seasons in subtle changes of colour in a series of four panels with interlocking shapes made of fine lines. Other names to watch for are Manuel Millares, Fernando Zóbel and Miquel Barceló, who is represented by a huge ceramic pot with bulging skull shapes (Grand Pot avec Crânes sur une Face, 2000) and a canvas, La Flaque (The Puddle, 1989).