Barcelona Guide
Montjuïc
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Address: On Montjuïc at the top of the long flight of steps from the fountains
Opening time:
Tues– Sat 10am–7pm, Sun & hols 10am–2.30pm
€8.50, ticket valid 48hr, annual pass €14, first Sun of the month free;
Telephone: 936 220 376
Website: www.mnac.cat
The towering, domed Palau Nacional was the flagship building of Barcelona's 1929 International Exhibition. Partly the work of Pere Domènech i Roura (son of the more famous Lluís Domènech i Montaner), its massive frescoed oval hall hosted the opening ceremony of the Exhibition, providing a fittingly grandiose backdrop for the city's biggest show since the Universal Exhibition of 1888. The palace was due to be demolished once the exhibition was over, but gained a reprieve and ultimately became home to one of Spain's great museums.
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is the city's most renowned art experience, showcasing a thousand years of Catalan art in stupendous surroundings. For first-time visitors, it can be difficult to know where to start, but if time is limited it's recommended that you concentrate on the medieval collection. This is split into two main sections, one dedicated to Romanesque art and the other to Gothic – periods in which Catalunya's artists were pre-eminent in Spain. The collection of Romanesque frescoes in particular is the museum's pride and joy, and is perhaps the best collection of its kind in the world. MNAC also has impressive holdings of European Renaissance and Baroque art, as well as an unsurpassed collection of "modern" (ie nineteenth- and twentieth-century) Catalan art up until the 1940s – everything from the 1950s and later is covered by MACBA in the Raval.
In addition, there are priceless collections of Catalan photography, drawings and engravings, and a numismatic section, items from which are either displayed as part of the general collection or sometimes appear in temporary exhibitions (separate admission charge, varies), which change every two to four months. Finally, there's a café-bar, gift shop and art bookshop in the gloriously restored oval hall, and a superior museum restaurant called Oleum (Tues– Sun lunch only) on the upper floor with views over the city.