In addition to being located in a historical building, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is home to a great variety of collections of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance art.
One of the best known is the Cambó Bequest Collection, the result of the most valuable disinterested donation ever made to the museum.
We'll tell you all the details about this permanent exhibition at the MNAC, as well as other art exhibitions you can't miss at Barcelona's most important museum. Are you ready to get to know them?
The great donation of Francesc Cambó
Undoubtedly one of the MNAC's most important collections, the Cambó Bequest is an exhibition of immense artistic value. It comprises a total of 50 paintings dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries by artists such as Botticelli, Rubens, Titian, Cranach, Goya or El Greco. These traces of history arrived to Barcelona through the kindness of the Catalan politician Francesc Cambó, a key figure in the development of the museum's collection.
Cambó was a great patron of the arts who, in addition to donating to the MNAC, donated works to the Prado Museum in Madrid. His work was completely selfless: he collected art out of love and gave it to museums in gratitude.
The works in the Cambó Bequest were the result of a decade of travelling around the world to collect masterpieces, from 1927 to 1936. The MNAC exhibited this collection for the first time in 1997, in the Palau Nacional de Montjuïc, which now houses the museum. Lucas Cranach's The Unequal Couple (Old Man in Love), Francisco de Zurbarán's Still Life with Vessels or Francisco de Goya's Allegory of Love, Cupid and Psyche are some of the most important works in the collection.
Other exhibitions and collections at the MNAC in Barcelona
Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Italian art is the protagonist of this MNAC collection, present since 2004, with paintings by Fra Angelico, Butione, Titian, Rubens, Tiepolo and Piazetta, among many others.
Gallardo Collection. This unique exhibition of medieval art is the result of a donation by the collector Antonio Gallardo Ballart. The works of Catalan and Spanish artists are particularly noteworthy.
Posters. A different kind of exhibition, with 50,000 drawings and more than 1,000 posters by Spanish, European and North American artists.
Modern Art. This permanent exhibition shows works of the three styles that most influenced Catalonia during the 19th century: neoclassicism, romanticism, and realism.
How to get to MNAC
MNAC is one of the museums that are worth visiting if you are visiting Barcelona, not only for its impressive collections, but also for an impressive setting around the mountain of Montjuïc and Plaza Espanya.
You can get to the museum easily thanks to metro lines L1 (yellow) and L3 (green), as well as bus lines 50, 150, 13 and 37 and the Paral·lel metro funicular. If you walk from Plaça Espanya, there are several flights of escalators that make it easy to get up to the museum door.
Museum opening hours and admission
The MNAC museum is open from 10 am to 6 pm in winter and from 10 am to 8 pm in summer, from Tuesday to Saturday, and from 10 am to 3 pm on Sundays and public holidays throughout the year. The museum is closed on Mondays.
You can buy tickets for the MNAC through the official website, or directly at the ticket office of the building. The price is €12 for general admission, although children under 16 and over 65 are free. Admission is free for everyone on Saturdays from 3pm and on the first Sunday of the month.
Find accommodation in Barcelona
Are you up for a cultural getaway in Barcelona to visit some museums? The Grand Hotel Central is ideally located on Via Layetana, 5 minutes walking distance from the Urquinaona stop. MNAC is just 30 minutes by metro from our hotel, from where you can also visit other important museums in the city.
Stay in the elegant and comfortable rooms of our 5-star boutique hotel in Barcelona, with all the services you need for a luxurious stay. If you book on our official website, you will get the best price guaranteed, plus a 20% discount for a gastronomic experience in our restaurant Bistro Helena.
For moments of relaxation, we recommend you visit our hotel spa in Barcelona, the Único Spa, where you can enjoy the best massages and treatments.
Book your stay now and discover all the art of the MNAC in Barcelona.
