Barcelona, 18 August 2025

The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya deeply regrets the passing of Eduard Carbonell, who served as the Museum’s director from 1994 to 2006.

Eduard Carbonell i Esteller, born in Barcelona on 20 January 1946, was a doctor in art history and a renowned expert in Romanesque art. He was a central figure in the history of art, museology, and heritage management in Catalonia, and played a key role in the conception and development of the MNAC. Among many other projects and initiatives, under his leadership the restoration works of the Palau Nacional were completed: the Romanesque Art galleries opened in 1995, the Gothic Art galleries in 1997, leading up to the full reopening in 2004 with the Renaissance and Baroque collections, as well as Modern Art. He was also responsible for overseeing the merger of the Museum of Modern Art in the Ciutadella with the Museu Nacional, re-establishing an uninterrupted narrative of art in Catalonia, as originally envisioned by Folch i Torres, the Museum’s first director.

Previously, as Director General of Cultural Heritage of the Government of Catalonia, he promoted the Museums Act of 1990, the Catalan Library System Act of 1993, and the Catalan Cultural Heritage Act of the same year, making him an essential reference point in Catalan culture and art history. His legacy as a researcher, professor, and cultural heritage manager is immense, and his full career can be consulted in the Diccionari d’historiadors de l’art català, valencià i balear (DHAC), published by the IEC: https://dhac.iec.cat/dhac_p.asp?id_personal=91

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In the words of Pepe Serra, director of the Museum:
“Eduard Carbonell was a key figure in the construction, development, and projection of the Museum, to which he devoted many years and enormous efforts. He was a great expert in Romanesque art and a person who, over the years, continued to support and help the Museum. We are losing an extraordinary colleague and friend.”