A Center of Modernisme
Other major artists who met in this cafe were Santiago Rusiñol, Miquel Utrillo as well as the sculptor Julio González.
Els Quatre Gats was the inheritor of a legacy of tertulias and art reunions specific to Barcelona, but also drew inspiration from the Parisian cabaret Le Chat Noir. Art exhibitions, literary and musical meetings, marionette shows and shadow plays also took place there.
Ramon Casas' partners in the enterprise were Pere Romeu, who largely played host at the bar, as well as Rusiñol and Miquel Utrillo. The bar hosted revolving art exhibits, including one of the first one-man shows by Pablo Picasso; the most prominent piece in its permanent collection was a lighthearted Casas self-portrait, depicting him smoking a pipe while pedaling a tandem bicycle with Romeu as his stoker.
Read more about this topic: Els Quatre Gats
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