| 
The National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional
d'Art de Catalunya - MNAC) in Barcelona, Spain, is a museum of Catalan
visual art. It is housed on the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 World's
Fair. Situated on the Montjuïc hill, it was rehabilitated by the
1992 Summer Olympics.

The museum was created in 1990, when the Catalonian Museum
Law reunited the collections of the former Museu d'Art de Catalunya (Catalonian
Art Museum; Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art) and the Museu
d'Art Modern (Modern Art Museum; 19th and 20th century art), adding also
the Gabinet de Dibuixos i Gravats (Department of Drawings and Prints),
the Gabinet Numismàtic de Catalunya (Catalonia Department of Numismatics;
coinage and medals) and the Biblioteca d'Història de l'Art (Art
History Library). On 1996, the Department of Photography was created.

The museum opened in 1995, with the Romanesque art section.
The Gothic art section was opened on 1997, while the Renaissance, Baroque,
19th century and 20th century collections opened on 2000. The official
opening, with the building completely rehabilitated and all the collections
in place, was in 2004, with the presence of the King and Queen of Spain.

The original Museu d'Art de Catalunya was opened on 1934
on the same location as today, but was closed during the Spanish Civil
War. It was reopened from 1940 to 1942. On 1945, the Modern Art Museum
opened in the Arsenal of the Ciutadella park.
Romanesque art: It contains mostly Catalan art from the
11th-13th centuries, but also some from before. The most outstanding part
of this collection are the wall-paintings of Romanesque churches and chapels
around Catalonia that have been transferred to the museum.

Gothic art: It contains mostly Catalan art from the 13th-15th
centuries. It also contains some Italian art.

Rennaisance and Baroque art: It contains Spanish, Italian
and Flemish art from the 16th-18th centuries. The collection was started
with the local art and augmented mostly through donations, specially that
of the Francesc Cambó collection.
Modern art: It reunites Catalan art from the 19th century and the first
decades of the 20th century, including photography and the decorative
arts. Outstanding are the works of Ramon Casas, Santiago Rusiñol,
Isidre Nonell, Pau Gargallo and the modernist decorative arts of Antoni
Gaudí.

Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: A collection of works
deposited by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. It includes pieces from the
Renaissance and Baroque. It also includes a collection of Catalan art
belonging to the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, from the mid-19th
century to the second half of the 20th century.

Department of Drawings and Prints: collection of drawings,
prints and posters from the last 17th century to the historical avant-gardes.
Photography collection: photographs from the XIX century
to mid-1990s.
Numismatics collection: Coins, medals and paper money
from VI BC to the present day. Outstanding is the collection of pieces
from Catalonia and the neighbouring territories.
|