Saving art during the Civil War
'Museum in Danger!' is the new exhibition of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, which shows how they protected, organized and catalogued its collections during the war period.
In 1934, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya was born thanks to the implementation of the museum plan for Catalonia by Joaquim Folch i Torres. This institution, which would become the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, housed the largest collections of the Catalan artistic heritage, from the Romanesque to Picasso's oil paintings. However, after the 1936 Coup d'État, its projection was cut short, and its integrity was endangered. When facing the risks of the revolution, Catalan authorities responded with the extraordinary task of safeguarding the artistic assets of the whole territory. This task has been documented in the new exhibition of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya curated by Mireia Capdevila Candell and Francesc Vilanova Vila-Abadal, under the name of Museum in Danger! Safeguarding and organization of Catalan art during the Civil War. In it, you will be able to see not only the museum's protection efforts but also the organization, cataloguing, documentation and restoration of the works. The exhibit is a portrait of the problems that spread throughout the Catalan territory at the time.
The show combines different elements, from original works to video recordings, including first-hand documentation, purging files, bibliographic catalogues and posters, among many others. The museum highlights the pictures of the transfer work done to safeguard and organize Catalonia's artistic heritage. Through the sample, the museum wants to recognize the hard work carried out at the time as well as to vindicate the figure of Joaquim Folch i Torres, which is essential for a better understanding of the current wealth of museums in the country.
You can visit the exhibition within the regular schedule of the museum until February 27, 2022. Tickets are 12 euros and can be booked through this link.