National Art Museum of Catalonia
Discovering Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Catalan Baroque treasures in a unique setting
The National Art Museum of Catalonia, located in the National Palace of Montjuïc, houses the most important collection of Catalan art and stands out for its Romanesque art collection, considered one of the most comprehensive in the world. Here you will find Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and modern art.
The National Palace of Montjuïc has hosted the museum since 1934.
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From Romanesque to Modernism in a single visit
The National Art Museum of Catalonia, located in the National Palace of Montjuïc, holds up to 25,000 pieces from different artistic movements that have had significance in Catalonia. It also showcases drawings, engravings and posters, photography, and numismatics.
Its Romanesque collection, covering the 11th to 13th centuries, is the museum’s most valuable. It features an impressive series of mural paintings, most of which originate from small rural churches in the Pyrenees. Among them, the renowned "Pantocrator" or "Christ in Majesty" stands out as a masterpiece of the 12th century, originally located in the apse of Sant Climent de Taüll. This collection also includes an exceptional group of painted wooden panels, unique in Europe.
The Gothic art collection, spanning from the late 12th to the 15th century, represents the peak and the period of maximum Catalan territorial expansion within Mediterranean Europe. You can admire masterpieces by painters such as Jaume Huguet, Lluís Dalmau, Bernat Martorell, and Lluís Borrassà, among others.
Renaissance and Baroque art is showcased through works from the private collection of the Catalan politician and patron Francesc Cambó. It includes pieces from the Italian quattrocento and masters of the cinquecento, such as Sebastiano del Piombo and Titian, as well as Spanish paintings ranging from the Golden Age to Rococo. Outside Cambó’s legacy, notable works include "The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew" by Ribera, "The Immaculate Conception" by Zurbarán, and "Saint Paul" by Velázquez.
The museum’s modern art collection was established during the 1888 Universal Exhibition and today brings together some of the finest Catalan art from the early 19th century to the 1940s. The exhibition begins with Neoclassicism and moves through Romanticism and Realism to reach Modernism.
Key paintings in this collection include "The Vicarage" by Marià Fortuny, alongside works by other significant Modernist artists such as Antoni Gaudí and Ramon Casas, as well as avant-garde figures like Picasso and Miró. The museum also preserves exceptional interior design ensembles from houses like Amatller, Lleó i Morera, and Batlló.
The National Palace of Montjuïc
The building housing the National Art Museum of Catalonia is also of great artistic and architectural interest. It is the National Palace of Montjuïc, located at the foot of Montjuïc, an iconic landmark in the city of Barcelona. This majestic building, which dominates Maria Cristina Avenue, offers spectacular views of the city from its front courtyard. Visitors can also access the rooftop with their museum admission.
The palace was inaugurated for the 1929 Universal Exhibition. Built in a classical style, it spans nearly 50,000 m². Its façade is crowned by a grand dome inspired by Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
For the curious
- Since 2004, the museum has also housed a collection of paintings and sculptures from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, featuring works by Marià Fortuny, Ramon Casas, and Antoni Tàpies, among others.
- The museum also hosts prestigious temporary exhibitions.
