Barcelona

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MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc

After a renovation that overran even the most pessimistic estimates of time and expense, the MNAC now houses a dizzying overview of Catalan art from the 12th to 20th centuries. The highlight is still the extraordinary collection of Romanesque murals – especially the tremendous Crist de Taüll, from the 12th-century church of Sant Climent de Taüll. The art is set into freestanding wood supports or reconstructed church interiors. Even ‘graffiti’ scratchings (probably by monks) of crosses, animals and labyrinths have been preserved.

The Gothic collection at MNAC 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 some stunning carvings and paintings from Catalonian 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 (c1430s), while the Cambó bequest contains some stunning old masters – some fine works by Titian, Rubens and El Greco among them.

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