After spending some time at the spectacular Swimming Games Olympic Venue set high above Barcelona with a terrific view of the entire city, we decided that we had to find a spot to cool off.

It was not only summer, but it was broiling hot!

We kept drinking water and fanning ourselves, but alas, although we were enjoying the men's diving event, we left in search of a cool respite from the heat.

CoBi was the name of Barcelona's Summer Games Olympic Mascot.

As we were leaving the swimming pools stadium (yes there were two pools) and walking along the top of the hill called Montjuic, we saw CoBi all decked out in painterly garb in front of what turned out to be the Joan Miro Foundation.

The building was air-conditioned!

Liking art, we decided to explore the museum and cool down at the same time which we achieved.

Joan Miro was born in Barcelona in 1893 and died in Palma de Mallorca in 1983. 

This hub is not intending to delve into a long biography of Joan Miro and his art.  Will leave a wonderful link here for those interested in finding out more about this world renowned artist and his works.

Suffice it to say that his Surrealism style of artwork is recognizable almost everywhere people look at Contemporary Art.  Most great museums around the world have examples of Miro's artwork in them.  Many people have posters and copies of his work on their walls.

When we discovered the Joan Miro Foundation on Montjuic, we were naturally interested in seeing what was inside as well as satisfying our need for some cool air.

The contemporary building was a work of art in itself.  It was designed by architect Josep Lluis Sert.  Another architect, Jaume Freixa worked to expand the building when more space was needed for display and work areas.

Bright and white spaces with plenty of skylights and windows let natural light enter the interior spaces and also let views of the outside remain within view.

The artist Joan Miro created the Foundation bearing his name in 1971 and contributed many of his art pieces which make up much of the collection. 

Included are the following from Miro...

217 paintings

153 sculptures

9 textiles

His complete graphic works

Almost 5,000 drawings

What amazed us was getting to see some of his earlier works (of which we were unfamiliar) and seeing his progression from Realism to the Abstract.

The Joan Miro Foundation's purpose is to not only showcase his artwork, but to also promote and expose people to other contemporary art as well.  Regular exhibitions are held there showing other artist's work.

Guided tours are offered for the public and school groups are often taken through this museum during weekdays.

There is an auditorium and a library which can be utilized by the public.

My husband and I enjoyed seeing the Joan Miro Foundation with all of its colorful, fun and eye-popping art sculptures both inside and outside the beautiful building.  The drawings and paintings were most enjoyable getting to view them up close and personal.

As this Joan Miro Foundation building sits atop Montjuic which is high above the City of Barcelona, the views looking down upon the city with the hills in the background were wonderful.

Having been at the Prado Museum where photography was allowed as long as one did not take the pictures using a flash, I was starting to take some photos of the paintings when I was asked to stop.  So I only have a couple shots that were already taken.

In reading the brochure afterwards, I realized that they would probably rather sell the images via postcards or books, so that is understandable.  I purchased several postcards...but alas...they have copyrights so I cannot post them on this hub.

This respite from the heat during a day of the men's olympic diving event turned out to be quite an unexpected pleasure.  We probably would not have taken the time to have gone inside the Joan Miro Foundation had it been a cooler day.  The result was that we were very happy to have added this to our Barcelona experiences during the summer games of the Olympics.