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All Spain Madrid Farmacia Juanse
AO Edited

Farmacia Juanse

A window into a long-lost world, these colorful tiles advertise a long-defunct range of purgative teas, harmless smokables, and diarrhea cures.

Madrid, Spain

Added By
Felicity Hughes
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Farmacia Juanse is a window into a lost world   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
Diarrhea cure features baby with its butt hanging in the breeze!   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
Unfortunately, the façade is sprayed by taggers   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
The Antigua Huevería round the corner   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
The sassy flapper in Seville metro station is also Guijo’s work   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
Decorative tiles in the garden of the Sorolla Museum   hughesfelicity / Atlas Obscura User
Losing history   ski queen / Atlas Obscura User
Farmacia Juanse   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Advertising of a toothache remedy   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
“Purgante tea pelletier. It is made as an infusion as black tea and it’s taken with pleasure ure” ea and takes with pleasure   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
Advertising of a “Harmless” Smoked remedy by Juanse   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
Emplastos porosos rojos El Elefante   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Update as of March 2024: The building is being renovated, and the facade is covered.

A window into a long-lost world, Farmacia Juanse in Madrid's Malasaña neighborhood is covered in colorful tiles advertising a long-defunct range of purgative teas, harmless smokables, and diarrhea cures. The pharmacy’s tiles were created by Enrique Guijo, a master artisan interested in reviving traditional arts. After studying ceramic making in Talavera de la Reina, he created beautiful tiles throughout Madrid.

While much of his art has been lost, Guijo's work can still be seen on the platforms of Chamberí Ghost Station, the garden of the Sorolla Museum, and a 1920s advert for soap recently uncovered in Sevilla metro that features a sassy Spanish flapper. Along with other commercial ceramic masterpieces of the time, the tiles for Farmacia Juanse were almost lost when they were covered with plaster during the dictatorship to avoid taxes on external advertising. They were later restored and are now considered a part of Madrid's heritage.

More of Guijo's work can be found at the Antigua Huevería, located just around the corner from the pharmacy. Incidentally, hueverías are farm shops that sell free-range organic eggs. Once common in Madrid, you can still find a few in business on the outskirts of the city.

 

Related Tags

Ceramics Medicine Tiles

Know Before You Go

If you’d like to see what Farmacia Juanse once looked like, check out the interior of Farmacia Cardona on nearby Plaza de la Luna which retains its original late 19th-century dark wood interior.

Community Contributors

Added By

hughesfelicity

Edited By

hrnick, Luis Morato, ski queen, Xavixavir

  • hrnick
  • Luis Morato
  • ski queen
  • Xavixavir

Published

March 1, 2023

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Farmacia Juanse
32 C. de San Vicente Ferrer
Madrid, 28004
Spain
40.425903, -3.703997
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