Dragons, unicorns, basilisks, and more fantastic beasts come to life in Casa Amatller

Here be dragons. 

Medieval maps bear little resemblance to modern cartography. The further a place was from the known world, the more fantastical were the beasts or monsters said to inhabit it. In a mix of wonder and fear of difference, medieval maps depict a wide array of hybrid, fantastical, and ferocious beings that reflected the values and beliefs of Christian society at the time. Thus, it was common for maps to mark the boundaries between the known and unknown world with the Latin phrase “Hic Sunt Dracones” – “Here Be Dragons.”

The Library of Fantastic Beasts, a new exhibition in the Art Centre of the Casa Amatller modernist building, located beside Casa Batlló on Passeig de Gràcia, is now open. In it, dragons, unicorns, basilisks, and many more fantastic beasts come to life. 

The exhibit combines interactive fun with historical rigor to create an unbeatable experience for the whole family to learn about the creatures, both real and imagined, that were used in the Middle Ages to explain the physical and spiritual world. 

Medieval art is full of beasts that embody human strengths and weaknesses, while symbolizing the fight between good and evil. They visually convey the moral codes of the time and are often endowed with fantastical properties. These creatures remain embedded in today’s popular culture, from literature and cinema to comics and advertising: a shared universe whose roots lie in the Middle Ages.

A co-production between the Amatller Art Centre and the Museum of Medieval Art combines traditional exhibition spaces, an immersive room, interactive installations, and virtual reality.

Among the 10 rooms to discover, ‘Journey to Hell’ stands out, featuring a virtual reality film in VR360º format that invites visitors to discover monstrous beasts. In addition, the immersive film ‘Immersive Bestiary’ delves into the universe of such mythological beasts. 

The exhibition teaches that the word ‘monster’ comes from the Latin word ‘monere’, which means to warn or to show, as in the Catalan and Spanish words, ‘mostrar’. Beasts considered monstrous were seen as omens of the devil and embodiments of evil. The defining characteristic of these monsters, in most cases, was their hybridity.

There’s no doubt that the devil himself is the ultimate monster. His evil is represented in beasts such as the dragon, the snake, and the basilisk, through features such as long tongues, fangs, and sharp claws.

The project stems from the success of the temporary exhibition “Beasts” at the MEV, Museum of Medieval Art in Vic, which won the prize from the Association of Museum Professionals of Catalonia for the best exhibition of the year and the Sàpiens Prize for the best historical dissemination initiative, curated by Judit Verdaguer and Marc Sureda.