Pla de l'Os

In Barcelona, the ground can be as artistic as the sky. And Joan Miró transforms walking, the act of stepping on a surface, into an unforgettable experience. Thousands of people walk over Joan Miró's pavement mosaic in the centre of Barcelona's Rambla. It goes unnoticed by some, others stop to look at the characteristic colours used by the Barcelona-born artist. However, few people know that an important Rambla landmark once stood opposite this site: the famous Boqueria gate.

It is said that the people of Barcelona were dumbstruck when they saw the gate Count Berenguer IV had had brought all the way from Almeria as a war trophy. A beautiful arabesque work which replaced the former gate of Santa Eulàlia, and was named the Boqueria gate. The gate disappeared when the city walls were demolished in 1760, creating a large open space on the site, known as the Pla de l'Os.

In 1976 Miró saw one of his dreams fulfilled: to have one of his works welcome the thousands of passers-by who walk up and down La Rambla every day. He worked with the ceramicist Joan Gardy Artigas, who fitted the pieces of the mosaic with great precision.

The mosaic is circular like the cosmos and its basic colours – yellow, blue and red – and simple forms, are redolent of Joan Miró's language: an intuitive language that retains the purity of the world of childhood.