 Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya | |
  Location within Barcelona | |
 Interactive fullscreen map | |
| Established | 1934 |
|---|---|
| Location | Palau Nacional,Barcelona |
| Coordinates | 41°22′06″N2°09′12″E / 41.36833°N 2.15331°E /41.36833; 2.15331 |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 290,000 |
| Visitors | 828,713 (2010) |
| Director | Pepe Serra |
| Nearest car park | On site (no charge) |
| Website | museunacional.cat |
TheMuseu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Catalan pronunciation:[muˈzɛwnəsi.uˈnalˈdaɾddəkətəˈluɲə]; English:"National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated asMNAC (Catalan:[məˈnak]), is amuseum ofCatalan visual art located inBarcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated onMontjuïc hill at the end ofAvinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, nearPl Espanya, the museum is especially notable for its outstanding collection ofRomanesque church paintings, and forCatalan art and design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, includingmodernisme andnoucentisme. The museum is housed in thePalau Nacional, a huge, Italian-style building dating to 1929. The Palau Nacional, which has housed the Museu d'Art de Catalunya since 1934, was declared anational museum in 1990 under the Museums Law passed by the Catalan Government. That same year, a thorough renovation process was launched to refurbish the site, based on plans drawn up by the architectsGae Aulenti and Enric Steegmann, who were later joined in the undertaking byJosep Benedito Tobias [ca;arz]. The Oval Hall was reopened for the1992 Summer Olympic Games, and the various collections were installed and opened over the period from 1995 (when the Romanesque Art section was reopened) to 2004. The museum was officially inaugurated on 16 December 2004.[1] It is one of thelargest museums in Spain.
The history of the institution dates back to the 19th century, when, in accordance with the principles that inspiredCatalonia's cultural and politicalRenaixença (renaissance), a movement particularly active in that century, many projects were launched to help revive and conserve the country's artistic heritage. This process began with the establishment of theMuseu Provincial d'Antiguitats de Barcelona [ca] (Barcelona Provincial Museum of Antiquities) in theChapel of St Agatha (1880) and theMuseu Municipal de Belles Arts de Barcelona [ca;es] (Municipal Fine Art Museum) in thePalau de les Belles Arts (1891), a palace built to mark the occasion of the1888 Universal Exhibition. A project to install all theseCatalan art collections in thePalau Nacional, launched in 1934 under the initiative ofJoaquim Folch i Torres [ca;es], the first director of Catalonia Museum of Art, was frustrated by the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War (1936–1939), when for protection many works were transferred toOlot,Darnius andParis (where an important exhibit was established). During the postwar period, the 19th- and 20th-century collections were installed in the Museu d'Art Modern (now the Modern Art Collection MNAC within the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya), housed from 1945 to 2004 in the Arsenal building in Barcelona'sParc de la Ciutadella, whilst theRomanesque,Gothic andbaroque collections were installed in the Palau in 1942.
The Palau Nacional, which has housed the Museu d'Art de Catalunya since 1934, was declared anational museum in 1990 under the Museums Law passed by the Catalan Government. In 1992 a thorough renovation process was launched to refurbish the site, based on plans drawn up by the architects Gae Aulenti and Enric Steegmann, who were later joined in the undertaking by Josep Benedito. The Oval Hall was reopened in 1992 on the occasion of the Olympic Games, and the various collections were installed and opened over the period from 1995 (when the Romanesque Art section was reopened) to 2004. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Museu Nacional) was officially inaugurated on 16 December 2004.
Since 2004, the Palau Nacional has once more housed several magnificent art collections, mostly by Catalan art, but also Spanish and European art. The works from that first museum have now been enriched by new purchases and donations, tracing the country's art history from early medieval times to the mid-20th century: from Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and baroque to modern art. This heritage is completed by the Gabinet Numismàtic de Catalunya (coin and medal collections), the Gabinet de Dibuixos i Gravats (drawings and engravings) and the library.[1]
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With a series of important Romanesquemurals, the Romanesque collection is one of the most important in the museum. Indeed, the Museu Nacional Romanesque Collection is unmatched by any other museum in the world. Dating to the 11th to 13th centuries, many of the works originally adorned rural churches in thePyrenees and other sites in Old Catalonia, orCatalunya Vella in Catalan. The works began to be discovered and studied in the early 20th century, particularly after a Pyrenean expedition in 1907 by theInstitut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute of Catalan Studies). The expedition published its findings inLes pintures murals catalanes (Catalan Mural Paintings, 1907–1921).[2][3]
In the early 1920s many of the Pyrenean murals were moved to Barcelona as a consequence of the actions of an American art dealer in 1919. The art dealer purchased many of the frescos at the former monastery inCastell de Mur, intending to sell them for a profit.[3] The dealer brought in two Italian art restorers who were experts atdetaching wall paintings, a technique called "strappo". The frescos were sent to theUnited States, and they now reside in theMuseum of Fine Arts in Boston. There were no laws inSpain forbidding the removal and expatriation of the art, but the shipment of the monastery murals to the United States alarmed theJunta de Museus de Catalunya [ca;es] (Catalan Board of Museums). The Board developed plans to conserve the murals. Hiring the Italian experts, from 1919 to 1923 they successfully intervened to detach many of the ecclesiastical frescos from the rural churches in the Pyrenees and transfer them to the Museum of Barcelona, then housed in theParc de la Ciutadella.[3] The Romanesque works were thus conserved and protected, and the collection is considered a unique art heritage and a symbol of the birth and formation ofCatalonia.[4]
The Romanesque rooms are arranged in chronological and stylistic order, giving visitors a view of the different tendencies in CatalanRomanesque art and featuring works produced, for the most part, in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.
The visit to this section begins with the muralpaintings from Sant Joan in Boí, which show clear stylistic influences from the FrenchCarolingian tradition, and then continues with works showing the Italian influence that dominated painting from the late 11th century, doubtless as a result of the influence of theGregorian Reform. This style is illustrated in such excellent works as the muralpaintings from Sant Quirze de Pedret,Santa Maria d'Àneu andSant Pere del Burgal.
However, the rooms of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya also feature a particularly outstanding example of European Romanesque art: the remarkable, original and extraordinarily expressive paintings from theApse of Sant Climent de Taüll, including the famous Pantocrator or Christ in Majesty, an undisputed masterpiece from the 12th century that forms tangible evidence of the creative power of Catalan painting. Beside this superb piece stands another magnificentgroup of works, fromSanta Maria de Taüll, the most important example of the interior of a Romanesque church painted throughout, with much of its decoration conserved today.
The Romanesque section ends with thepaintings from San Pedro de Arlanza and the chapter house ofSigena. The latter features one of the most magnificent pictorial series in this new style, called 1200 art, which swept across Europe in the 13th century. The piece was severely damaged by fire during theSpanish Civil War and was moved to the museum for restoration in 1936.[5][6][4]
Romanesque rooms also show the techniques that distinguished Catalan art at the time, such as panel painting, wood carving and others that help to complete our aesthetic vision of Romanesque, such as precious metalwork and carving stone.
The collection of panel paintings, unique in Europe, is another singular aspect of Romanesque painting, due both to the number and antiquity of the Catalan works conserved (the result of interest in the Romanesque since the late 19th century) and to their quality and technical diversity. Particularly outstanding are the frontals of the Apostles (also known as theFrontal of La Seu d'Urgell),Alòs d'Isil [ca;es],Avià andCardet, which are rightly considered paradigms of an original pictorial technique, embodying enormous artistic interest. Moreover, the wood carving collection completes this wide-ranging summary of Romanesque art, featuring fine works of different types, such asVirgin of Ger, theBatlló Majesty and the carvings in theErill la Vall Descent from the Cross.
There are also sculptures in stone that form part of the Museu Nacional Romanesque art collection, particularly a number of works fromRipoll and a large group of elements from ensembles in the city of Barcelona, including the refined marble capitals from the formerHospital de Sant Nicolau dels Pontells [ca]. Finally, the Romanesque section also features an important collection of enamels, mostly producedin Limoges, such as the Mondoñedo Crosier.[7]
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The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Gothic art collection began to take shape in the early decades of the 19th century, when a movement was first launched to revive and conserve the important body ofCatalan heritage, which had been seriously damaged in the wave of convent burnings that took place at around the time of thedisentailment of church goods in the year 1835.
The Gothic collection features a considerable number of Catalan works accompanied, moreover, by an extraordinary selection of pieces from the other territories that were once ruled by theCrown of Aragon. As a whole, this section presents a broad, representative panoramic view of Gothic art produced in the three large peninsular territories that formed part of the Crown –Catalonia,Aragon itself, andValencia – as well as a more anecdotal selection of works fromMajorca.
The Gothic rooms display works from the late 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, arranged in chronological order, although the pieces are also grouped by school and typological affinity, and several thematic sections have been established. These include the renownedMural paintings of the Conquest of Majorca, which preside over the first Gothic room. This same room also contains other works on profane themes or from secular sites, including elements from the enteixinats (coffered ceilings) of noble Barcelona houses to amatory caskets.
Other works in this and the following rooms, fromCastile,Navarre,Aragon and Catalonia, clearly illustrate the predominance ofFrench Gothic models, which endured until the mid-14th century, when competition was finally offered by new Italianate models. This new style, developed in the Italy ofGiotto, was adopted and adapted here, working a profound transformation in painting and sculpture not only in Catalonia, but throughout the reigns forming part of the Crown of Aragon.
Besides a few Italian examples, the Museu Nacional also features an important selection of Italian, Catalan and Aragonese painting, such as theTriptych of Sant Vicenç d'Estopanyà, probably by an immigrant Italian artist, and altarpieces by the Serra brothers (the Serra family were highly influential in steering the course of Catalan painting during the closing decades of the 14th century). Sculpture during this period from the mid-14th century, was also influenced by Italian models, although the French Gothic style continued to exercise its authority. The collection includes works that may be attributed to some of the most outstanding sculptors of the time, such asJaume Cascalls (seeHead of Christ) andBartomeu de Robió [ca;es]. Catalan sculpture in the late 14th century and the first half of the 15th is represented by two misericords fromBarcelona Cathedral carved stalls byPere Sanglada [ca;de;es]. From the 15th century, working in the newInternational Gothic style,Pere Oller andPere Joan perhaps represent the peak of what was without doubt an important Catalan contribution to sculptural art.
Amongst Catalan painters,Lluís Borrassà,Joan Mates [ca;es;fr;it;nl],Bernat Martorell,Ramon de Mur [ca;cs;es;fr;it] andJoan Antigó [ca;es] are amongst the finest exponents of International Gothic, a style that also coincided with the period when Valencia was flourishing as a centre for art. Valencia is represented in the Museu Nacional by such outstanding artists asGonçal Peris. The Gothic collection also features examples of painting from Aragon, another region that enjoyed considerable influence at this time. The exchange of influences continued, in both directions, during the period that followed when artistic representation became more realistic, and which took its initial inspiration fromJan van Eyck: the Valencian artistLluís Dalmau painted the universally acclaimedVirgin of the Consellers whilst the CatalanJoan Reixac – whose work is well represented at the Museu Nacional – directed the most prolific workshop in Valencia. It was also after a period in Valencia thatJaume Huguet, the great Catalan painter working in the second half of the 15th century, made his residence definitively in Barcelona, establishing his dominance and setting up a school there. Complementing a generous selection of Huguet's works, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya also contains examples from artists active during the same period, such asPere Garcia de Benavarri [ca;es;fr], who worked in both Aragon and Catalonia and created another successful formula based on similar cultural components.
Besides this central strain in autochthonous painting, the panorama of Gothic art also features various other important episodes, such as the time spent byAntoine de Lonhy in Barcelona, or the later, longer residence in the Catalan capital of theCordoban artistBartolomé Bermejo, who had previously worked in Valencia and Aragon. This journey through the late 15th century continues with such Castilian painters asFernando Gallego, along with others from Aragon, asMartín Bernat orMiguel Ximénez, and Valencia, principallyRodrigo de Osona. Finally, mention the remarkable series of the organ shutters from theCathedral of la Seu d'Urgell, painted at the end of the 20th century by an artist fromPerpignan who is known by various names, including that of theMaster of La Seu d'Urgell [ca;es;it].[8]
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The Museu Nacional d'Art de CatalunyaRenaissance andbaroque art collection comprises pieces of priceless cultural heritage that – unlike the collections at other great national museums inEurope, which were generally built up from royal and aristocratic collections – was established inCatalonia through the acquisition of local pieces and later complemented by donations and acquisitions from private galleries.
The itinerary begins with art from theLow Countries in the 16th century, in which religious fervour is mixed with detailed depiction of everyday life, as can be seen in the superb collection of panels and triptychs commissioned for private use. In Catalonia during the early Renaissance period, the Gothic forms are found alongside other, new stylistic solutions, as exemplified, for instance, inSt Candidus, byAyne Bru orSt Blaise, byPere Fernández, works imbued with the humanist feeling and influenced by the modern composition theories that were then emerging inItaly. In theAltarpiece of St Eligius of the Silversmiths,Pere Nunyes clearly shows the influence of this new language, as does the sculptorDamià Forment in his interpretation of the Apostles for theDormition of the Virgin. Towards the end of the 16th century, Spanish painting produced many works of outstanding beauty, such asEl Greco'sThe Bearing of the Cross andSt Peter and St Paul, enriched by modern use of colour, the fruit of the lessons the artist had learned inVenice. In this age, theEcce Homo,Luis de Morales, a contemporary ofEl Greco,Jacopo Tintoretto orThe Bassano, masterfully conveyed the devotional spirit of theCounter-Reformation.
The 17th century begins with thefrescoes in the Herrera Chapel byAnnibale Carracci and collaborators, who decorated the Church ofSan Giacomo degli Spagnuoli inRome, and continues with works by other Italian artists such as the NeapolitansMassimo Stanzione andAndrea Vaccaro. However, standing out above all these are the masterpieces from the masters of the Spanish Golden Age, such as theMartyrdom of Saint Bartholomew byJosé de Ribera, known as Lo Spagnoletto,St Paul, byDiego Velázquez, and theImmaculate Conception and several still lifes byFrancisco de Zurbarán. Returning to Catalonia, in his image ofSt Cajetan, the sculptorAndreu Sala reveals himself to be a worthy follower of the Italian geniusBernini.
Entering now the 18th century,Antoni Viladomat's series of canvases devoted to the Life of St Francis, which decorated the main cloister of the formermonastery of the Friars Minor in Barcelona, constitutes the only complete set of scenes from monastic life preserved in a museum. Finally, heralding the art forms that would develop in the 19th century, the daring works ofFrancesc Pla, known asEl Vigatà, illustrate the painterly freedom taken when decorating the interiors of seigniorial mansions belonging to the new, wealthy classes who had made their fortunes in trade and industry.
The collection, which reflects the taste of certain sections of society for Renaissance and Baroque art, features (exceptionally, if compared to the rest of the Museu Nacional collections) art produced not only in Catalonia, but also in the rest of Spain, Italy and Flanders, providing an overview of the development of European art during this period. Two later donations made important contributions to this more general vision: the Cambó Bequest and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.[10]
The collection of paintings that the Catalan politician and arts patronFrancesc Cambó (1876–1947) built up with the intention of donating works by the great masters to complement the great medieval series in the Museu d'Art de Catalunya as it was then known, is the most valuable altruistic donation that the Museu Nacional has received in its history, and the one which has most served to enrich the body of Renaissance and Baroque works here.
The Cambó Bequest forms a collection of paintings embraces European painting history from the 14th to the early 20th century. It includes representative works of the Gothic and Renaissance periods, together with pieces that illustrate the perfection of the ItalianQuattrocento, the sensuality of the great Venetian masters of theCinquecento, the rising economic prosperity of the Low Countries in the 16th and 17th centuries and the magnificence of the Spanish Golden Age, without forgetting the richness of EuropeanRococo. The artists represented at the Museu Nacional, thanks to this distinguished collection, include many outstanding, universally known names: great Italian painters such asSebastiano dal Piombo,Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) andGiandomenico Tiepolo; superb exponents of theFlemish School in the form ofPeter Paul Rubens andLucas Cranach;Jean-Honoré Fragonard andMaurice Quentin de la Tour and their French rococo works; and, finally,Francisco de Goya, whose revolutionary genius rounds off the artistic journey embraced by the Cambó Bequest.[10]
When the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection was installed in thePalacio de Villahermosa inMadrid, and the state formalised the purchase in 1993, a number of the works – 72 paintings and 8 sculptures, mainly on religious themes, though also including several landscapes and portraits – were dispatched on permanent loan to Barcelona. In that same year, 1993, the permanent exhibition of these works was officially opened in a wing ofPedralbes Monastery, converted into a museum by Barcelona City Council. In 2004, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya reached an agreement under which the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of Barcelona was to be exhibited permanently at the Museu Nacional, with the dual purpose of complementing the content in the Catalan museum and making the works more widely known and appreciated.
The collection comprises paintings and sculptures spanning European art from the Gothic to therococo period. There are many Italian works, including, most outstandingly, paintings byFra Angelico,Pietro da Rimini,Taddeo Gaddi,Francesco del Cossa,Bernardino Butinone,Dosso Dossi,Titian,Ludovico Carracci,Tiepolo andCanaletto, among others. Particularly fine examples from theFlemish school are a painting byPetrus Paulus Rubens and a landscape bySalomon Jacobz van Ruysdael, whilst theSpanish Golden Age is represented byDiego Velázquez'sPortrait of Mariana of Austria.
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunyamodern art collection owes its origins to the1888 Universal Exhibition, when Barcelona City Council installed what was then a modest collection of contemporary (for the time) modern art in thePalau de Belles Arts. This original core of the collection was considerably expanded by acquisitions made by the Council at art exhibitions. As it stands at present, the modern art collection contains a selection of the finest Catalan art from the early 19th century until the 1940s.
The first part of this itinerary is devoted to theneoclassical,Romantic andrealist movements. Among the most outstanding Catalan neoclassical artists represented here are the painterJosep Bernat Flaugier and the sculptorDamià Campeny. In terms of Romanticism, particular mention should be made ofNazarene painters such asClaudi Lorenzale, who focussed on the portrait most notably, andLluís Rigalt, a precursor of the Catalan landscape tradition, which was continued (now entering the Realist period) byRamon Martí Alsina, who introducedCourbet's ideas in Catalonia, andJoaquim Vayreda, founder of theOlot School, among others. Special mention should also be made ofMarià Fortuny, Catalonia's finest 19th-century painter. Fortuny's genre painting won him international acclaim, although towards the end of his short life he became interested in pictorial innovation, as can be seen in his last works. Also represented here are several painters who worked in the style ofanecdotal realism, includingRomà Ribera andFrancesc Masriera, and theLuminists of the Sitges School, disciples of Fortuny. Turning now to sculpture, theVallmitjana brothers are the most outstanding exponents of the realist tradition. Finally, the section devoted to the 19th century also includes examples from early photographic art, featuring works byA. A. Disdéri,Jean Laurent,Le Jeune andCharles Clifford, among others, featuring images of different places from all over Spanish territory.
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Modernisme is a movement of enormous artistic and cultural importance inCatalonia, is one of the central themes in the Museu Nacional modern art collection. In painting, the works most clearly identified with this movement, infused with a spirit of renewal, are those byRamon Casas andSantiago Rusiñol, whose Parisian paintings embrace certain elements from French Impressionism. Another important trend isSymbolism, represented here by the paintings ofAlexandre de Riquer andJoan Brull, and also seen in certain photographs by the pictorialistPere Casas Abarca. The second generation of Modernista artists are present in depth and number, too, with works by the likes ofIsidre Nonell,Marià Pidelaserra,Ricard Canals,Hermen Anglada–Camarasa,Nicolau Raurich andJoaquim Mir, among others. It was these and other artists who helped to elevate Catalan painting to reach one of its most brilliant periods around the turn of the 20th century. The collection also includes works by Spanish painters, such asJulio Romero de Torres,Joaquim Sorolla,Ignacio Zuloaga,Darío de Regoyos andJosé Gutiérrez Solana, the photographerOrtiz-Echagüe and the French artistsBoudin,Sisley andRodin. Particularly interesting in the section devoted to Modernista sculpture are the works ofMiquel Blay andJosep Llimona, who were clearly influenced by Rodin. The collection of Modernista decorative arts includes some exceptional examples of interior decorative art byJosep Puig i Cadafalch,Gaspar Homar andAntoni Gaudí from, respectively, theAmatller,Lleó Morera andBatlló houses in Barcelona'sPasseig de Gràcia; objets d'art in various specialities, such as ironwork, ceramics, glasswork and jewellery; not forgetting several items of furniture byJoan Busquets and the architectJosep Maria Jujol.
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The second movement richly represented in the Museu Nacional modern art collection isNoucentisme, which embodies the quest for the essential spirit of theMediterranean. The movement is represented by the classical compositions ofJoaquín Torres García andJoaquim Sunyer, vaguely influenced byCézanne, and the sculptural nudes ofJosep Clarà andEnric Casanovas. Completing this review ofNoucentisme are the sculptures byManolo Hugué and the paintings byXavier Nogués, notably popular in tone. In around 1920, a new generation of artists emerged, one faced by the dilemma of either continuing in thefigurative tradition or making the leap to theavant-garde. Some of these, such as the paintersJosep de Togores andFrancesc Domingo, produced work with a style of its own within the context of international realism, a movement that gained many followers between the wars. Others, such as Torres-García himself,Rafael Barradas andSalvador Dalí, found in theGaleries Dalmau the ideal gallery at which to show their more innovative works.
The historic avant-garde is very well represented, particularly in terms of sculpture, with works including impressive sculptures byPablo Gargallo,Julio González andLeandre Cristòfol, whilst in painting the most exceptional figure isPablo Picasso, represented in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya collection since 2007.
Turning now to the field of photography, we should mention such avant-garde artists asJosep Masana,Josep Batlles,Pere Català Pic andEmili Godes, as well asAgustí Centelles for his important graphic work documenting theSpanish Civil War. Finally, the new avant-garde that emerged during the post-war years is represented byOtho Lloyd andJoaquim Gomis, whose pioneering work found its continuation in theNeorealistsFrancesc Català-Roca,Joan Colom,Oriol Maspons andXavier Miserachs, among others.
In late 2004, to mark the opening of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the museum received a score of Catalan art works from theThyssen-Bornemisza Collection. In view of the wealth and heterogeneity of this collection, the works loaned to the Museu Nacional focus more on diversity than on unity of discourse, with the object of giving an idea, if overly concise, of the plurality of this collection.
The chronological period covered by this section spans from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, one of the most brilliant moments in the history of Catalan art. Notable amongst the 19th-century pieces is Marià Fortuny's Bullfight, Wounded Picador, painted in 1867. As regards the Modernista movement, several of the most important artists from this period are represented, featuringOpen-Air Interior (1892) andRamon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem (1897),[12] both byRamon Casas; Le Paon Blanc byHermen Anglada-Camarasa; andThe Cathedral of the Poor (in which the Church of theSagrada Familia, under construction, is seen in the background) and The Abyss.Majorca (1901–1904) byJoaquim Mir. Equally noteworthy is the presence of Noucentisme, a movement deeply rooted in Catalonia, with paintings byJoaquim Torres-García andJoaquim Sunyer, as well as works by younger artists who continued the Noucentista spirit. Finally, this journey through the history of Catalan modern art leads to the acclaimedAntoni Tàpies.[1]
The collections assembled from the museum's historic holdings to form the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Cabinet of Drawings and Prints comprise some 50,000 drawings, 70,000 engravings and more than 1,000 posters. The founds combine to offer a rich and wide-ranging journey through the most important movements in the history of Catalan art, particularly since the late 18th century, thanks largely to the establishment in Barcelona in 1775 of the Free School of Design and the Fine Arts. Popularly known asLa Llotja, this school quickly became a reference point in the consolidation of the academic style in Catalonia. Representing the period fromNeoclassicism toRealism, the Museu Nacional collections of works on paper feature a considerable number of pieces by artists linked to the school in the 19th century, includingJosep Bernat Flaugier,Vicent Rodés,Claudi Lorenzale andRamon Martí Alsina, as well as others by members of certain families, such as the Planella and the Rigalt lineages, who produced various generations of artists. From the preceding periods, we should highlight in particular the contribution made by the most outstanding Catalan baroque painter,Antoni Viladomat, who is represented by many works in the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints. As recently as 2003, moreover, the collection was enhanced by the acquisition of a group of Catalan baroque altar works fromCésar Martinell's unique collection, which provide an interesting view of Catalan altarpiece art in the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, there can be no doubt that one of the true highlights of these collections is the important body of works byMarià Fortuny, which include more than 1,500 drawings and 50 engravings, making the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints an essential reference for reconstructing the creative trajectory of this great 19th-century artist. From the same period, moreover, are more than 30 drawings by the history painterEduardo Rosales, acquired in 1912, and linked to two of his finest and most characteristic historic compositions:The Testament of Queen Isabella the Catholic andthe Death of Lucrecia.
The Modernista and noucentista movements are also widely represented in the Cabinet holdings. The collections include more than 600 Modernista posters by renowned Catalan and foreign artists. Among the most impressive are those byRamon Casas, one of the most illustrious of all Modernista artists. Particularly mention should be made of the famous series of charcoal sketches, a veritable portrait gallery of the leading personalities of the era in Catalonia, and which Casas himself donated to the museum in 1909. Turning now to the noucentista movement, we should draw attention in particular toIsidre Nonell, represented in the Cabinet by some 150 pieces.
Nor should we forget the collection of posters from the same period, largely acquired by the museum fromLluís Plandiura in 1903. Comprising more than 500 pieces among which foreign artists are also well represented, this invaluable legacy constitutes an incomparable resource for tracing the history of poster art in Catalonia.
Finally, though the collection is rather uneven here, mention should be made of the printed works from the avant-garde movement. The sculptorJuli González is one of the avant-garde artists most amply represented in the Cabinet, thanks to the donation of more than 150 drawings made by his daughter in 1972. On the other hand, the presence of certain great contemporary creative artists such asDalí andMiró, to mention but two, is little more than anecdotal.
Two acquisitions made by the old Museums Board were fundamental to forming the collections contained in the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints. The first was the collection of literary and art criticRaimon Casellas, in 1911; the second, that of Modernista artistAlexandre de Riquer, ten years later.
The collections of the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia, established in 1932, now comprises more than 134,000 pieces. This rich holding is the result of a long process of acquisition by purchase, donation, legacy or deposit, which began in the first half of the 19th century and continues even today.
The coin collection comprises nearly 100,000 pieces, including examples from the main series minted from the 6th century BC to the present. The most important and interesting amongst these are, without doubt, the coins produced in Catalonia, which include many extremely rare and unique pieces. The visit to the Numismatic Cabinet begins with the series of ancient coinage, outstanding among which are those minted on theIberian Peninsula. These include such important pieces as the coins from the Greek colonies ofEmporion and Rhode and the treasure of 897 silver pieces found at the neapolis ofEmporion. Dating back to the transition period between the ancient and medieval worlds is the collection ofVisigoth coins, including some minted at workshops in Catalan territory, such asBarcino,Tarraco orGerunda. Practically all the western European kingdoms are represented in the medieval Christian series, although the collections of coins from Catalonia and Aragon are the most notable. They include examples that illustrate, step by step, the historic and economic evolution of these lands. For example, the economic growth that Catalonia enjoyed in the 13th century is reflected in the minting in Barcelona for the first time of silver Peter II Croats.[clarification needed] Finally, among the coins minted in the modern and contemporary periods, we should mention particularly those produced in Catalonia during three important historic periods: theReapers War, theWar of the Spanish Succession and theFrench occupation.
The medals collection is formed by more than 9,000 pieces, which range from the earliest, struck in Italy in the second half of the 15th century, to the present. The greater part of this collection is made up of works produced in Spain, mostly by well-known artists and engravers, who created medals of the highest quality. For example, the Museu Nacional medals collection features works by such outstanding 18th-century master engravers asTomás Francisco Prieto andJerónimo Antonio Gil. During the late 19th century, moreover, particularly after the 1888 Barcelona Exhibition, many Modernista sculptors turned to the art of medal-making, and the examples in the Cabinet fully reflect what was a splendid creative period for the genre, particularly in Catalonia. The leading artist in the field was, without doubt, Eusebi Arnau, but such sculptors as Parera, Blay, Llimona and Gargallo also created medals of the highest quality.
The central core of the MNC paper money collection, which embraces a wide range of documents of different types, is formed by its 4,100 examples of banknotes. These include the Spanish series containing all the banknotes issued by theBank of Spain from 1874 to the present, as well as the series of paper money printed by the Catalan Government and local authorities in the country during the Spanish Civil War.
The Cabinet also exhibits a range of different pieces of interest due to their direct or indirect connection with numismatics. These include, amongst other things, tools used for minting coin, coin weights, scales, jettons (counters), pellofes and other types of tokens, stamps, medals and various documentary collections.
The National Palau of Montjuïc, known asPalau Nacional was constructed between 1926 and 1929, with the goal of being the main building of the1929 Barcelona International Exposition, holding an Exhibition of Spanish Art namedEl Arte en España (The Art of Spain). More than 5,000 works came to the Exhibition from across Spain.
The Palau Nacional is a huge building (over 50,000 square metres (540,000 ft2)) which embodies the academic classical style that predominated in constructions for all the universal exhibitions of the period. Its façade is crowned by a great dome inspired bySt. Peter's Basilica in theVatican City inRome, flanked by two smaller domes, while four towers modelled onSantiago de Compostela Cathedral stand at the corners of the so-called Sala Oval, or Oval Hall. This great space (2,300 m2), used as the venue for important civic and cultural events, is encircled by tiered seating, preceded by double columns; it also houses a monumentalorgan, one of the biggest in Europe, waiting for an important restoration work. Many of the most outstanding painters and sculptors of the day, for the most part followers of theNoucentista aesthetic and cultural movement, were commissioned to decorate the interior of the Palau. Entrance from the front is by a huge staircase leading up from Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, flanked halfway by magnificent monumental illuminated fountains designed byCarles Buïgas.
The first projects to develop the slopes of Montjuïc, turning the mountain into the city'sgreen lung and a leisure activity centre for the people of Barcelona, date back to the early 20th century. However, these ideas were given decisive momentum when Montjuïc was chosen as the site for the great International Exhibition organised by the city in 1929. The renownedModernisme architectJosep Puig i Cadafalch was commissioned to direct the urban development and architectural aspects of this project, andJuan Claude Nicolas Forestier andNicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí landscaped the gardens. Under these plans, the Palau Nacional was to be the central palace for the exhibition. In 1923, the dictatorPrimo de Rivera seized power, with the result that Puig i Cadafalch was removed from the project. Acompetition to design and build the Palau Nacional was then won by the architects Eugenio P. Cendoya,Enric Catà and Pere Domènech i Roura. The palace was to provide the central venue for a great exhibition entitled Art in Spain and featuring original works and reproductions representing the history of Spanish art, complemented by two extensions: thePoble Espanyol (Spanish Village) architectural site, still open today, and the Palau d'Art Modern (Palace of Modern Art), which was later demolished.
In the area around the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya site, moreover, many of the buildings erected for the 1929 International Exhibition remain, whilst others have also been established. All these different elements form a complex that has become one of the most attractive cultural, commercial and leisure centres in the city. The outstanding buildings dating from the time of the International Exhibition include the pavilions housing the Barcelona Trade Fair (Fira de Barcelona), theEstadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, refurbished for the 1992 Games, thePoble Espanyol and theTeatre Grec, a Greek amphitheatre built in a disused quarry. This gives its name toBarcelona's summer arts festival (GREC).
The library is the most important documentation centre open to the public. Its origins go back to the books referred to by museum technicians in Barcelona when preparing for the1888 Universal Exhibition. In the early 20th century, theJunta de Museus de Catalunya [ca;es] (Catalan Museums Board) decided that the library should be opened to the public, and decisive impetus was given to this initiative when the Special Committee for the library was set up in 1907. From that year onwards, the library holdings were constantly enriched by legacies and donations from important private libraries.
The Museu Nacional Library collections comprise domestic and foreign books and magazines on different aspects of art: monographic works on art and artists; photography; numismatics; local history; a reserve section containing a collection of manuscripts; incunabula such as the 1493Nuremberg Chronicle; works published pre 1900; and the books of artists and collector's editions. Sections of particular interest include that devoted to exhibition catalogues, established in 1913 and containing printed matter on shows held at galleries in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and even further afield, and 'The Press', established in 1968, which brings together news items published in the daily media and of interest to the artworld.
It is thanks to the Museu Nacional publications policy, that many of these works were acquired – it aims to promote exchanges and so provide the library with copies of works published by museums and art centres all over the world.
The library facilities are designed to provide Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya technical staff, researchers, students, art professionals and all individuals interested in the art world with all the information they seek. The reading room provides access to the library catalogue, the Collective Catalogue of Universities (CCUC), several databases (Princeton University, Index of Christian Art; Bibliography of the History of Art; Art Price), and to databases available on CD-ROM and Internet.
Another important element in the Museu Nacional organisational structure is the archive, founded as a department in 1995 to standardise management of the museum's documentary collections. With regard to the origin of these collections, the archive contains both documentation generated by the museum since 1991, when the consortium was set up, and historic documents from institutions that now form part of the Museu Nacional: the Museu d'Art de Catalunya (Art Museum of Catalonia), the Museu d'Art Modern (Museum of Modern Art), the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints, the Numismatic Cabinet of Catalonia, and the Library of Art History.
The archive also conserves invaluable historic documentation in the form of the collections built up by different organising committees for fine art exhibitions (1891–1946). Here, too, are other historic resources related to the world of art and deposited in the museum over the years.
Finally, the archive also contains a section devoted to the image, comprising some 350,000 audiovisual documents, mainly photographs, on different supports and in a variety of formats.[13]
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The Museu Nacional, as a museological institution of reference in the country, promotes a network that joins together the art museums in a common collaboration strategy, for placing value and spreading Catalan artistic heritage. The network of art museums was created with the aim of developing services, projects and activities jointly, so as to achieve a greater social, touristic and scientific projection among all the member museums. The following museums currently form part:Biblioteca-Museu Víctor Balaguer, deVilanova i la Geltrú; el Museu d'Art de Girona; el Museu Episcopal de Vic; Museu Diocesà i Comarcal de Solsona; el Museu del Cau Ferrat, deSitges; elMuseu de la Garrotxa, d'Olot; elMuseu d'Art Jaume Morera, deLleida; elMuseu de Lleida Diocesà i Comarcal; elMuseu de l'Empordà, deFigueres; el Museu de Reus; el Museu de Valls; el Museu de Manresa; el Museu d'Art de Sabadell; el Museu Abelló, deMollet del Vallès; el Museu d'Art Modern de Tarragona; el Museu d'Art de Cerdanyola; la Fundació Apel·les Fenosa, del Vendrell; elMuseu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona; elMuseu del Disseny de Barcelona; elMuseu Frederic Marès, de Barcelona i la Fundació Palau, deCaldes d'Estrac.[14]
One of the other aspects of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is the number of services and training proposals and entertainment for families and schools. The museum has an educational service itself, which offers several resources for learning and services tailored to different audiences. Among others, a program is the museum common space of integration aimed at people at risk ofexclusion and use the museum as a key integrator and softwareMuseum hosts, aimed at integrating with other training projects related to art.
Another of the best known proposals isMuseum as an integration space (El Museu espai comú d'integració, inCatalan), and alsoA hand of stories (Una Ma de Contes), a joint initiative betweenTelevisió de Catalunya and Museu Nacional, which explains 20 short stories representing 20 paintings of Museu Nacional permanent collection, with a different look.
There are also activities which are encouraged in the relationship between children and artists active. They participated in activities such contemporary artists asPhilip StantonGino Rubert orLluïsa Jover.[15]
The aim of the Department of the Restoration and Preventive Conservation is to ensure the conservation of all the works in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya collections. The department helps to guarantee the physical conservation of all the museum's holdings, including both works on exhibition and in storage, on deposit or on loan, whilst also seeking to delay as far as possible the ageing process that affects the materials that form the artworks. In addition, the Restoration and Preventive Conservation Department also studies the materials and the technical aspects of works with a view to providing scientific and technical assistance for art historians specialising in different periods, promoting dialogue and interdisciplinary studies.
At the centre, professionals from different specialist disciplines study problems affecting the works, or changes they are undergoing, determining the causes of deterioration and doing their utmost to eliminate any risk to the works. In this regard, a key aim is to create a stable environment and to establish the best conditions for exhibiting, storing, handling, packing and transporting works. The centre seeks to minimise deterioration to the collections by ensuring that the most appropriate environmental conditions and exhibition systems are provided, as well as exercising strict control over the movement of objects and the restoration treatments applied to individual works.
Most of the activity at the centre is concerned with prevention, but due importance is also attached to reparative treatment and restoration. Restoration work is aimed at improving the aesthetic reading of pieces on which, very often, restorers from much earlier generations have previously intervened, working according to criteria very different from those applied today. Needless to say, restoration is not carried out in the hope of returning works to their original state; but rather, to take into account the passing of time and any work that has already been carried out on the piece, and which now forms part of the history of restoration in Catalonia in general.
The center exists due to the impulse thatJoaquim Folch i Torres gave to the project when he sentManuel Grau i Mas inMilan with the objective that was formed by the hand ofMauro Pelliccioli, then director of the restoration laboratories inMilan, attached to thePinacoteca di Brera art gallery. The Milan laboratories had a decisive influence on how restoration work was carried out all over Europe. Work continues today with a view to establishing the Museu Nacional Department of Restoration and Preventive Conservation as a reference and resource, which may operate separately from the museum itself, in terms both of the working methodologies and the rigour and the criteria that the centre applies.
The centre is staffed by scientific personnel devoted to preventive conservation and chemical laboratory work, and by a team of curators and restorers specialising in various disciplines, in accordance with the types of works that form the museum collections: restoration of paint on canvas and transferred painted murals; paint on wooden panels; polychrome wood sculpture; furniture; artwork on paper and photography; and stone, metal and ceramic.
The Board of Trustees governs the museum. As well as representatives from the consortium members, administration, and the management, it is made up of representatives of people who contribute to the achievement of its goals. As of December 2024[update] the president is Joan Oliveras i Bagués and vice-presidents are Sònia Hernández Almodóvar, Maria Eugènia Gay Rosell, and Jordi Martí Grau.[16]
Members of the board (2024) comprise:[16]
List of Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya directors since its foundation
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