Art and Nature

A visit to the Fundació Joan Miró is a way of connecting art with nature.

"Everything happens on its own, like the rhythm of nature. Naturally, without forcing anything."
Joan Miró


Nature was always at the root of Miró’s creative drive and a key element in the initial concept for the Fundació. Joan Miró and Josep Lluís Sert - the architect and close friend of the artist in charge of the project - chose Montjuïc for the site because they imagined a building that would merge with its natural surroundings, in the midst of the vegetation that moved into the museum and formed part of it.

And that is the Fundació Joan Miró: a museum where art and nature are intertwined. From the Olive Tree Patio, in the heart of the building, we can see Montjuïc Park on one side and, on the other, the city of Barcelona hugging the foothills of Collserola. The Carob Tree Patio offers a place to take a break outdoors without leaving the museum, and the North Patio overlooks the cityscape with the sculpture Study for a monument (moon, sun and one star) in the foreground. The roof terrace offers visitors a view of the patios, the greenery surrounding the building in Montjuïc and the sculptures by Miró that are part of the landscape - an open itinerary through which to observe nature within the museum visit and contemplate its surroundings.

The trees at the Fundació Joan Miró are charged with timeless symbolism: the cypress is a symbol of welcoming and hospitality; the almond tree evokes the rebirth of nature; the olive is a sign of longevity, resistance and renewal, and the carob tree is associated with fertility. For Miró, a tree "has a soul, a spirit" - it is more than a trunk with branches and leaves.

The hill of Montjuïc is the largest urban park in Barcelona, a garden of gardens that serves as one of the city’s "green lungs." Easily accessible via public transportation, it also has a network of paths that we can use to reach the Fundació Joan Miró on foot from several different points in the city (the neighbourhood of Poble-sec, Paral·lel, Plaça d’Espanya, among others) and discover its natural surroundings. Walking to the Fundació is a way of enjoying the pairing of art and nature right from the outset.

"When I see a tree - a carob, for example - I feel that the tree is talking to me. It has eyes. You can talk with it."
Joan Miró

© Fundació Joan Miró. Foto: Pep Herrero
Untitled (Flower). Joan Miró, 1905