THE NATIONAL ART MUSEUM
BARCELONA, SPAIN
IMAGE NUMBER 768
Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. Most visitors head for the "modernist" architecture of Gaudi and his followers. But Barcelona's cityscape, with its eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings unsullied by subsequent development, are its greatest virtue.
Like Venice and Paris, Barcelona was blessed by poverty which prevented the demolition of its best architecture by newcomers who thought they knew better. Wonderful buildings are everywhere. Better known as MNAC, the National Art Museum of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) is one of the best and most visited art museums in Barcelona. Housed in the impressive Palau Nacional, the museum features almost all kinds of art forms, from sculpture and painting to drawing, engraving, photography, coinage, and posters, illustrating with great accuracy the history of Catalan art between the Romanesque period and the first half of the 20th century.
TECHNICAL NOTES
The image was taken with a hand-held Phase One 645 Camera at ISO 100. Exposure of 1/800th of a second and at aperture f6.3. 150 mm Schneider Kreuznach telephoto lens with leaf shutter. The image was captured on a Phase One IQ180 80 megapixel digital back.