Miro's home and workplace
If you're on holiday in Mallorca you may want to treat yourself to some time out of the blazing sun and heat of the beach or maybe to get out of some rare rainfall in the cooler months. You can easily pass 2 or 3 hours in one of Palma's splendid art (and more) facilities – The Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró – in Cala Major.
It's the place where Joan Miro, perhaps one of Spain's most well known modern artists, realised his dream to have a large studio to work in and where he lived for 30 years. He bequeathed it to the public when he died in 1986 and it has since become an interdisciplinary public service, a centre for contemporary artistic creation and a museum which offers visitors an insight into Miro's artwork and underlying creative process.
It's a fascinating place to visit, not only for the artwork – paintings, drawings, sculptures, and ceramics – on display in the studio which is much as Miro left it, but also for the architecture of the building which was designed for the artist by his friend, the architect Josep Lluis Sert. The studio is currently closed for major renovations and repairs but is due to open again on 17th December.
Currently, you can see an exhibition of Miro's work called 'Miro, a wild spirit,' which has been on tour in Seoul, Bologna and Turin and demonstrates the new found freedom and creativity that he felt after finally getting the large studio of his dreams.
If the photo gallery above inspires you to visit, then you can take advantage of an hour long guided tour of the foundation in English on Tuesdays at 12:30. The tour is for a maximum of 15 people so there's plenty of time for interaction and costs only €1.
I'd love to go but there's a snag – Miro's cat, it's still there! The story goes that Miro went off on a long trip, not realising that his cat was in the studio, and when he returned he found the poor creature extremely dead and mummified. Being of an artistic temperament he thought it might be apt to fix the former feline to his studio wall and there it remains. My cat-loving, non-artistically temperamental wife won't go anywhere near the place, so neither can I!
Admission to the Foundation is €7.50 for adults and the fast facts are as follows.
Winter ( 16-09 / 15-05 )
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 18h
Sunday and holidays from 10 to 15h
Monday closed
Summer ( 16-05 / 15-09 )
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 19h
Sunday and holidays from 10 to 15h
Monday closed
Closed
25 December and 1 January
Fundació Miró Mallorca
C/ de Saridakis, 29
07015 Palma
34 971 701 420
Buses
Bus nos. 46, 3 & 20, operated by Empresa Municipal de Transports de Palma (EMT). Stop no. 714 at 104 Carrer de Saridakis
Bus no. 104, operated by Transport de les Illes Balears (TIB)
Palma City Sightseeing tourist bus