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Daniel Giralt-Miracle is a critic and art historian who is fundamental in the history of recent Catalan art. His poster collection is a testament to the post-war and second avant-garde artistic activity at national and international level, which also includes works by his father, the renowned graphic artist Ricard Giralt Miracle. The collection is made up of 1,144 posters, from the 1950s to 2016.

The Iconographic Repertoire of Spanish Art

On the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, the exhibition El arte en España (Art in Spain) was organised. The exhibition required a prior study of the historical heritage. This gave rise to the idea of creating an Iconographic Repertoire of Spanish Art. The Archive of the Museu Nacional conserves a total of 106,844 documents consisting of photographs, graphic images, plans and drawings.

Ramon Marinel·lo i Capdevila

The sculptor Ramon Marinel·lo i Capdevila (1911-2002), a member of the ADLAN group, contributed to the assimilation of the Surrealist and Cubist currents of the European avant-garde before the Civil War. Documents associated with his professional sphere of activity.

Personal collection

First General Fine Art Exhibition

First General Exhibition of Fine Arts, organized by Barcelona City Council in 1891. Administrative file on the management of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Juan Eduardo Cirlot Laporta

Juan Eduardo Cirlot Laporta (1916-1973), a poet, composer, essayist, theorist and scholar of symbols. Documents structured around two activities, literature and art.

Personal collection

Sala Parés

Sala Parés, an art gallery that opened in 1877 and is still active today. Documents comprising newspapers and magazines, photographs, correspondence, artist’s dossiers and small catalogues.

Companies collection

Fund file

Montserrat Negre i Queralt

Montserrat Negre i Queralt, a restorer of works of art on paper and archive materials. Professional and technical documents, related entirely to the restoration of paper.

Personal collection

Joaquim Folch i Torres

Joaquim Folch i Torres (1886-1963), a historian, writer, art critic and museologist. He was the director general of art museums in Barcelona. A variety of documents comprising correspondence, files, photographs and various texts on museography and medieval art.

Personal collection

Nicolau Raurich

Nicolau Raurich (1871-1945), was an outstanding artist of Catalan painting, he received important awards in exhibitions held in Madrid and the main European capitals. Diverse documentation consisting of the artist's own writings, correspondence, press clippings and photographs.

Personal collection

First National Exhibition of Artistic and International Industries of Reproductions

First National Exhibition of Artistic and International Industries of Reproductions, organised by Barcelona City Council from October 1892 to January 1893. Administrative management file of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Second General Exhibition of Fine Arts

Second General Exhibition of Fine Arts, organised by Barcelona City Council from April to July 1894. Administrative management file of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Foneria Bechini

The house of Bechini occupies a prominent place in Catalan sculpture, especially in the years of Noucentisme and the post-war period. Its trajectory began in 1881 and lasted until 2004. It was the most active artistic foundry in Catalonia and cast some of the most outstanding works by authors such as Josep Llimona, Enric Clarasó, Josep Clarà and Enric Casanoves, amongst others.

Companies' Collection

Fund file

Exhibition of Antique Art

Art exhibition organised by the Municipal Board of Museums and Fine Arts of Barcelona in 1902 with historical pieces of painting, sculpture, drawings, enamels, miniatures, tapestries, fabrics, as well as other sumptuous arts. Administrative file and binder with photographs.

Exhibitions

Exhibition of Old and Modern Portraits and Drawings 1910

Exhibition held at the Palau de Belles Arts (Palace of Fine Arts) in 1910, with works by Goya, Sánchez Coello, Murillo, Renoir. Organised by Barcelona City Council

Exhibitions

Alexandre de Riquer

Alexandre de Riquer (1856-1920), a key figure in Modernism in Catalonia, he introduced the art of Ex libris and would recover etching. His bibliographic collection is preserved in the Folch i Torres Library. Diverse documentation consisting of handwritten notes, correspondence and literary notes.

Personal collection

Third Exhibition of Fine Arts

Exhibition held at the Palau de Belles Arts (Palace of Fine Arts) in 1896. It revitalised the industrial arts sector in Catalonia at an important time in the formation of the decorative arts of Modernism. Administrative file of the exhibition

Exhibitons

Art Exhibition of 1920

Exhibition organised by the Municipal Board of Art Exhibitions, made up of representatives and municipal officers and delegates from all the artistic associations of Barcelona. It highlighted the state of Catalan painting and sculpture at the time. Administrative file of the exhibition

Exhibitions

Fourth Fine Arts Exhibition

Exhibition coinciding with the Cuban War, in 1898. The official events were halted for nine years. Administrative file of the exhibition management.

Exhibitions

Fifth International Exhibition

International event held in 1907, that situated Barcelona within the international art circuits. Administrative file of the exhibition management.

Exhibitions

Agustí Masvidal i Salavert

Agustí Masvidal (1920-2000) participated as a draughtsman in various publications of the time. His collection consists mainly of 36 drawings on the cane of Romanesque churches in the Vall de Boí, Andorra and the Vall d’Arán.

Personal collection

Exhibition of French art 1917

Held at the request of a group of renowned personalities in the field of Catalan art and culture, it replaced the fairs suspended in Paris during the First World War. It highlighted the medal section.

Exhibitions

1918 art exhibition

Exhibition focused on Catalan and Spanish artists, because of the First World War. Administrative file for the management of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Ignasi Mundó i Marcet

Painter trained at the Llotja design school, a disciple of Joaquim Mir and Manolo Hugué. He resided for three years in Paris and exhibited his work regularly in major European capitals.

Personal collection

1919 art exhibition

An exhibition held from 28 May to 30 June 1919 in the Palau de Belles Arts (Palace of Fine Arts). The special galleries were dedicated to the work of two 19th-century painters, Marià Fortuny and Lluís Rigalt. Exhibition management administrative file.

1921 art exhibition

The painting Gallery of Honour was dedicated to Joaquim Mir, with the exhibition of 45 works by him. Works by Xavier Nogués and Pau Gargallo were exhibited in the special galleries. Exhibition management administrative file.

Josep Maria Sert i Badia

Josep Maria Sert i Badia (1874-1945) was a prolific artist, painter and interior decorator, who enjoyed great international prestige. He was noted for being an artist who breathed fresh life into mural painting. Documentary and photographic material comprising writings and personal correspondence

Fund file

Joan Sutrà Viñas

Joan Sutrà Viñas (Figueres, 1898-1981) was an industrial painter and art restorer. He became an artist who mastered a wide range of pictorial techniques, standing out for his commitment to the preservation of the Catalan artistic heritage and the exhaustive documentation of his work.

Personal collection

Fund file

Catalan art exhibition in Holland

Travelling exhibition held in Amsterdam and Gröningen in 1922. Documentation related to the management of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Alexandre Plana i Santaló

Alexandre Plana (1889-1940), lawyer, art critic, poet and Catalan narrator attached to Noucentisme. He practised literary, theatrical and artistic criticism in various Barcelona publications. Collection consisting of textual documentation that includes poetry and reviews, and a large number of publications in the press.

Personal collection.

Art exhibition of 1922

The main novelty of this exhibition was the change of venue. The Exhibitions Board changed the location to the Palau de la Indústria. Administrative file for the management of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Joan Ainaud de Lasarte

Joan Ainaud de Lasarte (1919-1995) was a historian, cultural manager and art critic, he worked at the Board of Museums, was the director of the Museu d’Art de Catalunya and the general director of the Art Museums of Barcelona. His collection comprises written documents, photographs and transparencies on a variety of subjects associated with the history of Catalan art.

Personal collection

National Exhibition of Fine Arts 1942

During the post-war years, the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, which up to then had always taken place in Madrid, was held in Barcelona on three occasions, in 1942, 1944 and 1960.

Exhibitions

National Exhibition of Fine Arts 1944

Exhibition held between November 1944 and 1945. 687 works were exhibited, including painting, sculpture, drawings and engravings. The City Council took advantage of the event to acquire a large set of artworks to increase the municipal artistic collections. Administrative file of the exhibition.

Exhibitions

Ferran Callicó i Botella

Ferran Callicó (1902-1968) did drawings and was a painter and theorist. He stood out for his numerous portraits carried out with a realistic and meticulous technique. He was opposed to the avant-garde and vindicated the classics. His documentary collection was incorporated in the Museum of Modern Art in 1979, in the same batch that includes 192 works by the artist.

Personal collection

Magí Albert Cassanyes i Mestre

Magí Albert Cassanyes (1893-1956) was an art critic and artistic promoter. As an advocate of the avant-garde, he promoted the Logicophobia Exhibition of 1936. Personal collection consisting of textual documentation, photographs and graphic images.

Personal collection

Ramon Marti Alsina

Ramon Martí Alsina (1826-1894) is the most notable figure in Catalan realism. His influence was evident in a whole generation of new painters. A personal collection made up of textual documentation relating to his work process and his economic-financial activity. Donation by Ricard Martí Rovira, 2009

Personal collection

Guillem Bergnes i Soler

Guillem Bergnes i Soler (1888-1975) began his art studies in New York and on returning to Catalonia he devoted himself to painting landscapes and figures. He participated in the Municipal Fine Arts Exhibitions and the National Exhibitions. His personal collection includes photographic images related to his process of artistic creation.

Personal collection

The "New Woman" attends college

The "New Woman" cared not only about her appearance, but about education and her personal and professional development too. A larger number of women were winning the right to attend university or college. Some were obtaining a professional education, often at prestigious all-female colleges, and becoming lawyers, doctors, journalists and professors. Women finally went beyond the borders of the home and switched from the reproductive labor (housekeeping, cooking and child raising) to the productive work in economic sector. New activities demanded new, more suitable, clothes - the shirtwaists and tailored suits came into fashion.

The "New Woman" showed interest not only in enjoying and studying arts, but also in developing her talents in various artistic fields as a way of self-expression. Women changed the passive role for an active one: women actually created art pieces and a new generation of women artists had emerged.

Those avant-garde women were open to the radical changes and extraordinary solutions in fashion. They began to replace large hats with wide brims for smaller hats with flat brims. They introduced the bobbed hair in 1909, before it became a fashion trend of the 1920s, and often supplemented hairstyle with postiches, small individual wigs, curls, or false buns.

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