Cher’s Famous Art
18 May 2020
Famous Art for the Pandemic
Update 03 July 2025: This post was initially published during the 2020/2021 COVID pandemic. As an art history professor, world traveler and lover of great art and art museums, I set out to connect famous art with what was going on in the world around us. First posted on Face Book, it moved into the creation of this website. Click here for additional postings on a Year in the Life of the Pandemic.
“Head of Barcelona” / “El Cap de Barcelona”
by Roy Lichtenstein, American, pop art
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (1991-92).
I was looking forward to seeing this street art while visiting the city on our [COVID cancelled] trip to Spain for 2 reasons. First, I absolutely adore outdoor sculpture (mainly because I can TOUCH it!) and I find Lichtenstein’s cartoon-like art intriguing. Second, it stands tribute to having achieved my goal of instilling cultural literacy in my students so that they are able to recognize styles and artists they encounter in museums and in everyday life.
This huge sculpture (46’ tall!) was created for the 1992 summer Olympics in Barcelona. Lichtenstein was inspired by and honored the organic forms of Barcelona architect, Antonio Gaudi, and the unique styles of Spanish artist, Picasso, as well as the city’s affinity for mosaics.
When our daughter (one of my star students!) encountered this sculpture while wandering the streets of Barcelona, her immediate response was “Look! That’s a Lichtenstein!” And she was right! Mission accomplished! Cultural literacy achieved!
So, Barcelona, Spain stays on my Bucket List—and I bet there is a tapas bar just around the corner!
If you enjoyed this post and/or want to share your Barcelona/Gaudi story, I’d love to hear from you! Encouraging comments are always welcome – and please let me know you “LIKE” it with a click below. Thanks! ~Cher
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