Cool Pavilion, Barcelona, painted on stretched canvas using traditional oil paints, is a simplified version of my original watercolour entitled ‘The German Pavilion, Barcelona’ (NC 133). This is the fourth representation I have completed of this image of Mies van der Rohe’s beautiful modernist building, originally designed and constructed for the German section of the ‘International Exposition’ exhibtion in Barcelona in 1929. It was demolished a year later but was reconstructed as a replica in 1986. My wife and I discovered it during a weekend visit to Barcelona in 2002. We were inspired by the amazing design and the quality of materials used in its construction set in verdant surroundings. It’s hard to do justice to such a great work of art, but I’ve aimed to suggest the sense of amazing light and spaciousness this building exemplifies in its timeless modernist appeal. I intend to simplify the image further in future paintings.

oil on canvas

50 x 40 cm

£795