Thinking Bull, Barcelona

The streets of Barcelona are like an open-air museum. One of the most thought provoking statues you will find is the Thinking Bull (Brau Pensador) created by Josep Granayer I Giralt and inspired by Rodin’s The Thinker. It is located at the end of Rambla de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

At the beginning of the 1970’s Rambla de Catalunya was earmarked to be converted into a highway connecting Plaça de Catalunya and Av. Diagonal. The plan involved removing all the trees which lined the boulevard and installing an underground carpark. A group called the Friends of the Rambla created a plan to thwart the creation of the highway by installing ten statues along the full length of the street.

Originally they had planned to commission a series of statues which included a hippo playing the violin, a shy pig and a masquerading peacock. However after the first two statues were installed in 1972, the Thinking Bull and the Flirty Giraffe, they caused so much controversy that they were unable to get permission to install the rest of the collection.