Robert Capa (1913-1954) was one of the most outstanding photographers of the 20th century. His pictures were published in the most important illustrated magazines, where he made his name, and in which he honed his technique as a master of modern photojournalism. This is war! Robert Capa at work is a pioneering exhibition that takes a fresh look at Capa’s contribution during the 1930s and 1940s. The title has been taken from the article published on December 3rd 1938 in the British magazine Picture Post, with Capa’s images of the Battle of the River Segre.

Through photographs, handwritten comments, books and magazines, the stories come to life an enable us to see how Capa worked. Death of a Republican Militiaman (1936), The Battle of the River Segre (1938) and Refugees in Barcelona (1939) illustrate his chronicle of the Spanish Civil War. China (1938) documents the Sino-Japanese War. D-Day (1944) and The Liberation of Leipzig (1945) feature among his photos of the Second World War.

Among these documents, we find a hitherto unpublished photographs and three contact sheets from one of his most dramatic series: the one taken at the Battle of the River Segre in November 1938, which is part of the material found in what is known as the “Mexican suitcase”, recovered in Mexico in 2007.

Sharing the room with this show, the museum is exhibiting Gerda Taro, the first major retrospective dedicated to this photojournalist, Capa’s collaborator and lover.

The Museu Nacional is playing host to the two exhibitions precisely in 2009, the 70th anniversary of the end of the Spanish Civil War.
 

Exhibition catalogue

Exhibition organized by the International Center of Photography, New York (ICP) in co-production with the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.