Barcelona MNAC (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)

'One museum, a thousand years of art' is the slogan of the National Museum (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya), and the collection provides a dizzying overview of Catalan art from the 12th to the 20th centuries. In recent years the museum has added an extra floor to absorb the holdings of the section of the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection that was previously kept in the convent in Pedralbes, along with the mainly Modernista holdings from the former Museum of Modern Art in Ciutadella park, a fine photography section, coins and the bequest of Francesc Cambó, founder of the autonomist Lliga Regionalista, a regionalist conservative party.


The highlight of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, however, is still the Romanesque collection. As art historians realised that scores of solitary tenth-century churches in the Pyrenees were falling into ruin - and with them were going extraordinary Romanesque mural paintings that had served to instruct villagers in the basics of the faith - the laborious task was begun of removing the murals from church apses. The display here features 21 mural sections in loose chronological order. A highlight of Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is the tremendous Crist de Taüll, from the 12th-century church of Sant Climent de Taüll. Even 'graffiti' scratchings (probably by monks) of animals, crosses and labyrinths have been preserved. The museum has recently acquired a major 13th-century Romanesque mural from the cathedral at La Seu d'Urgell.

The Gothic collection of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is also excellent and starts with some late 13th-century frescoes that were discovered in 1961 and 1997, when two palaces in the city were being renovated. There are carvings and paintings from local churches, including works of the indisputable Catalan masters of the Golden Age, Bernat Martorell and Jaume Huguet. The highlight of the Thyssen collection is Fra Angelico's Madonna of Humility (c1430), while the Cambó bequest contains some wonderful Old Masters. Also unmissable is the Modernista collection, which includes Ramon Casas' mural of himself and Pere Romeu on a tandem which decorated Els Quatre Gats. The rich collection of decorative arts in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya includes original furniture from Modernista houses.

Address

Palau Nacional,
Parc de Montjuïc
Area Montjuic & Poble Sec
Transport Metro Espanya
Telephone 93 622 03 76
Open 10am-7pm Tue-Sat; 10am-2.30pm Sun.
Admission (valid 2 days) Permanent exhibitions €8.50; €6 reductions. Temporary exhibitions €3.50-€5.50. Combined ticket with Poble Espanyol €12. Free over-65s, under-14s and 1st Sun of mth.