Art, war and memory

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War has been a central theme at the MNAC for years, especially since 2021 with the opening of the rooms dedicated to art produced during the Spanish Civil War.

The Museum is present, and unfortunately current events are strongly marked by the tragedy of war and the systematic violation of human rights. We are living in a time of great political polarization, with a serious setback in values and rights that we believed to be untouchable.

From October 2025 to June 2026, the MNAC is presenting new additions to its collection, three exhibitions, and a programme of activities within a new project titled Art, War and Memory.

exposicions

Recovered from the enemy. The Francoist deposits at the MNAC

The exhibition focuses on the SDPAN, the Servicio de Defensa del Patrimonio Nacional, created by the Franco regime at the end of the Spanish Civil War. It presents the Museum as an —involuntary— actor during the conflict, serving once again as a storage site for artworks.

From February 20 to June 28, 2026.

Ink against Hitler. Mario Armengol, caricaturist in the Second World War

Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, from October 8, 2025 to January 11, 2026, the exhibition presents the artist Mario Armengol, one of the most internationally published Catalan caricaturists and, paradoxically, almost unknown to the general public.

From October 8, 2025 to January 11, 2026.

Drawings from the National Museum. Sparks of war (1914–1918)

This exhibition highlights some of the finest draftsmen in the MNAC collections, in this case through satirical and denunciatory illustrations about the First World War.

From October 8, 2025 to January 11, 2026.

Collection

Acquisition Sim, drawing and war

The artist José Luis Rey Vila (Cádiz, 1900 – Paris, 1983), better known as Sim, left one of the most vivid testimonies of the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War, specifically in Barcelona. Following the line the Museum has pursued for years, focused on the Civil War, the exhibition will present nearly fifty drawings by this artist that have recently been acquired by the National Museum.

From May 8th.

New works by Helios Gómez

The MNAC becomes the leading institution for the visual work of Helios Gómez, thanks to a significant donation from his son, Gabriel Gómez Plana. The collection offers a broad representation of the artist’s creative output and moments, from the 1920s through the postwar period and into the 1950s.

Since 2025 – Rooms 74, 75, 77 and 78.

Noves sales dedicades a l'art i a la guerra civil

Spanish Civil War Rooms

During the years of the war, many artists chose not to remain neutral: art became a powerful weapon to raise awareness and gain support for one political cause or another.

Despite the dramatic conditions of the context, this mobilisation led to the culmination of some of the aspirations of modern and avant-garde art. War as a subject developed an entire iconographic programme, featuring themes such as the front line, aerial bombings, massacres, and civilian evacuations.

Browse and discover them

Video: New rooms on art and the Spanish Civil War

Thematic guide: Federico García Lorca

Thematic guide: Federico García Lorca

Video: Spaces and narratives of the Spanish Civil War. Art and commitment (MNAC)

Video: Spaces and narratives of the Spanish Civil War. Art and commitment (MNAC)

Playlist: Collection of Spanish Civil War art at the MNAC

Playlist: Collection of Spanish Civil War art at the MNAC

ACTIVITIES

The Art, War and Memory programme includes a series of activities such as guided tours, lectures, live podcasts, and art workshops. It also features activities organised by the Friends of the National Museum Foundation, some of them exclusive to members. Throughout the season, the schedule will be published here so you don’t miss any activity. Keep it handy!

The impact of the Spanish Civil War on the configuration of museums. Traceability, location and fate of rescued cultural assets

The impact of the Spanish Civil War on the configuration of museums. Traceability, location and fate of rescued cultural assets

Conference: “Research into the fate of artistic assets in the Francoist postwar period: returns, transfers, movements, diversions, claims, and disappearances”

Conference: “Research into the fate of artistic assets in the Francoist postwar period: returns, transfers, movements, diversions, claims, and disappearances”

Key points of the exhibition “Recovered from the enemy. The Francoist deposits at the MNAC”

Key points of the exhibition “Recovered from the enemy. The Francoist deposits at the MNAC”

“From Republican rescue to Francoist control: ‘Recovered from the enemy’”

“From Republican rescue to Francoist control: ‘Recovered from the enemy’”

Art and Commitment Tour

“Ink against Hitler” seen by… Òscar Dalmau

“Ink against Hitler” seen by… Òscar Dalmau

“Drawings from the National Museum” seen by… Albert Martí

Key points of the exhibition “Ink against Hitler”

Armengol or the limits of humour in war

+MNAC CHANEL

EDUCATION

The construction of the image of the enemy and graphic humour

Guide: Art and Commitment

What humanity? The human figure after the war (1940–1966)

Historical overview of art, war and memory

Infinite war

The role of art and artists in armed conflicts runs through the Museum’s collection, exhibitions, and public programmes. Below, we offer a selection of what we have carried out in this field in recent years.