Category: Collection

A Gothic panel by Lluís Dalmau, a new addition to the museum’s collection

Cèsar Favà On 31 May the Decapitation of Saint Baudilus, by Lluís Dalmau, originally in Sant Boi de Llobregat, was sold at auction and purchased by the museum thanks to funding by the Palarq Foundation. From this week and coinciding with Museu Nacional Night 2017, it is temporarily on display in room 17 of the…

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Author: Cèsar Favà

The museum’s collection of photographic portraits of artists

Alícia Cornet The museum conserves a collection of portraits of artists taken in the most important photographic studios in Barcelona in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. In this article we shall talk about four of these studios: the Napoleón, and those of Antoni Esplugas, Joan Martí Centellas and Pau Audouard. Photographic innovations Three…

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Author: Alícia Cornet

What you need to know about ‘Els dolços indrets de Catalunya’ (Attractive Places in Catalonia), by Pere Torné Esquius

Elena Llorens Eduard Vallès It is a fact that in Catalan art history books there are always a few lines set aside for Torné Esquius in the chapter about Noucentisme. This is so due largely to the impact —and subsequent spread— of his album Dolços indrets de Catalunya, which saw the light in Barcelona at…

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Author: Elena Llorens

Collectors that have made museums

If there is one thing that the museums of Catalonia are noted for it is being the result, not of ancient royal collections, as is the case with the Belgian royal museums, or, closer to home, the Prado Museum, but of private collections that have been purchased, bequeathed, donated or ceded to the Museums Board…

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Author: Redacció museu

An Almoravid thurible in Romanesque art

This week’s blog includes a version of the text published in the blog of the Museum of the Alhambra, which links Romanesque works in different museums, including ours, to an Almoravid thurible in the Alhambra’s collection. Museum of the Alhambra One of the most outstanding bronzes to be found exhibited in the Museum of the…

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Author: Z_ Guest blogger

10 Key takeaways from Museums and the Web 2017

Conxa Rodà Our team at the National Museum have been active in several ways in this edition of Museums and the Web, held in Cleveland from 19th to 22 April: being part of the program Committee, members of the Jury of the Awards and giving 2 presentations: a 3-hours workshop on content strategy and a…

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Author: Conxa Rodà

The Parisian Melancholy of Ramon Casas

Martí Casas What story does Ramon Casas want to tell us in the painting Interior of Le Moulin de la Galette? It is one of the most enigmatic works by the great Modernista painter, a master specializing in portraiture who rarely painted complex subjects that could be interpreted in more than one way. The subject…

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Author: Martí Casas

Who was ‘The violinist’ in Pau Gargallo’s sculpture?

The restoration of Pau Gargallo’s sculpture The Violinist, which we have talked about in the blog, is making good progress. Today we shall see who the musician was that inspired the artist to make the sculpture: Francesc Costa. A violin teacher at the Music Conservatory tells us his story. Judit Bofarull Who was Francesc Costa?…

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Author: Z_ Guest blogger

Illustrated Books from Alexandre de Riquer’s Private Library/2

Yolanda Ruiz Arthur Rackham By the turn of the twentieth century Arthur Rackham had acquired a very characteristic style of his own. He stands out as an illustrator of fantasy tales and for his interpretations of fairies and imaginary beings. He did the drawings for a version of Alice in Wonderland that has become one of…

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Author: Yolanda Ruiz

Illustrated books from Alexandre de Riquer’s private library/1

Yolanda Ruiz Alexandre de Riquer is one of the most representative figures of Catalan Modernisme. Especially outstanding was his activity in the field of the graphic arts, in which he displayed great creativity. He was the finest representative of international design in Catalonia at the beginning of the twentieth century because he was the best-informed…

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Author: Yolanda Ruiz