The patio of the Dalmases house impresses right off the bat, due to the elegant balance between what has been built and the emptiness that enhances it. It follows the same style that had already begun in many of the houses that contributed to giving class to Montcada street.
A not banal detail that exalts and gives personality to this patio is the sculptural work that stylishly highlights the railing and the columns of the staircase. No other street on Montcada street exhibits anything similar, quite the opposite.
The staircase has been an extraordinary contribution in the history of architecture in various aspects, even outside of this art. Suffice it to emphasize that the ladder effectively, practically and temptingly facilitates the exercise of climbing. Since this finding broke out, it has been perpetuated and allowed architects a most tempting display; until recently, when Óscar Tusquets dedicated a well-deserved and suggestive requiem to him. His colleague David Mackay, when appraising modern Barcelona architecture, dedicated a well-deserved praise to the double staircase by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which marks an initiation access and an exciting arrival at the Palau de la Música concert hall.
The staircase of honor in the Dalmases Palace has been described as a jewel of Baroque architecture, a distinction awarded by Joan Ainaud, nothing given to the adjective. Alexandre Cirici Pellicer is more enthusiastic, describing it as a baroque masterpiece. It is ventured that it can be attributed to the master chisel of the workshop of the Claperós family.
Whether it is or not, it is a set that captures the eye and it is important to note that the theme was surely suggested by the owner, not chosen at random by the artist. In this regard, it is interesting to contribute, then, the comment that the historian Miquel Batllori made to me: it is a representation destined to enhance and ennoble the importance of the merchant in the remarkable and constant historical aggrandizement of the city.
This is how this celebration of a maritime theme inspired by classical mythology should be interpreted, whether through the evocation of Neptune’s chariot or the storied kidnapping of Europa. There is no shortage of mermen or naiads mixed with mischievous children, all wrapped up in an atmosphere of joyful dancing incarnated by musicians and young people.
