New rooms Art & the Spanish Civil War
The museum is renewing its exhibition discourse and, at the same time, expanding the number of rooms in the permanent collection of modern art dedicated to art produced during the period of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). A total of 108 pieces are on display, including paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, paper money, together with new media, such as illustrated publications, posters, photomontage and cinema, which were used by both sides. Works by 43 artists are on display, some of whom have never before been shown in the museum's galleries. A total of 57 works from the reserves are on display for the first time in the permanent collection. Works from private collections will also be shown for the first time, as well as some recent acquisitions, which will contribute to enriching the exhibition discourse.
During the war years, many artists decided not to remain neutral: art became a powerful weapon for stirring consciences and rallying followers to one political cause or another.
Despite the dramatic conditions of the context, this mobilisation was the culmination of some of the aspirations of modern art and the avant-garde. War as a motif unfolds a whole iconographic programme featuring themes such as the war front, aerial bombardments and the massacres and evacuations of the civilian population.